Theatre Review: Phoenix Dance Theatre Mixed Programme 2015 – Cast Theatre, Doncaster

<p>The Phoenix Dance Theatre have been established in Leeds for around 30 years and over that time have developed their reputation as one of the leading companies for contemporary dance. Phoenix Dance have utilised their 2015 mixed programme of four short pieces to highlight their strengths and their diversity, whilst showcasing their talented dancers.</p> <p>★★★</p> <p><img src="http://www.thegayuk.com/communities/8/004/009/928/388/images/4621109333.jpg" width="461" height="240" alt="" title=""/></p> <p></p><p>Starting with “Shift”, choreographed by Christopher Bruce, with the men dressed in jeans and work shirts; and the women sporting housecoats and headscarves, this reflection of the fast pace of modern life in the factories of the 1940s proved a punchy opening to the evening. Accompanied by the jagged and jolting sounds of angular strings and piano, the frenetic pace, twirling and spinning in a domino effect proved a relatively strong opening.</p><p></p><p>Christopher Bruce’s second piece was “Shadows”, performed with a distinct overtone of an Eastern European flavour which combined fluid choreography and emotive performances to reflect the love, turbulence and optimism of Eastern European history. The theme of camaraderie came through especially as the cast portrayed the scenes of revolution, where men with nothing in common stood alongside each other in defiance. Utilising a kitchen table as the central pivot to the piece reflected the theme of family and made for an emotive conclusion to the first act. </p><p></p><p>The hard facts of science and the fluidity of emotion are compared in the third piece, Sharon Watson’s “Tearfall”, a piece which opened with a scientific explanation of the composition of and purpose of tears which was subsequently juxtaposed with an exploration of the emotions represented when people cry. A spectrum of emotions were portrayed, looking at how crying can signify happiness, sadness and love. Subtle lighting changes assisted in enhancing the mood and the simplicity of a few helium balloons contrasting with the strings of light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, reminiscent of a set of eyelashes, made this a more visual piece than those that had come before it.</p><p></p><p>The evening was concluded with “Bloom” by Caroline Finn, which looked at the facades we all hid behind. An air of a slightly seedy jazz club permeated the atmosphere as the central character, a masked man, was drawn out of his shell to exude confidence in a joyous finale accompanied by a swing/easy listening version of Creep by Radiohead. Tucked within this performance was a lot of humour, most notably a risqué poem with a rapid succession of words being acted out, and the lines of poetry veering off at a tangent just before the expletives arrived.</p><p></p><p>As a whole, the mixed programme provided for a varied and enjoyable collection of short pieces which were pleasantly surprising. My first experience of Phoenix Dance Theatre was one which I found to leave me wanting to see what else this company can do.</p><p></p><p>The Phoenix Dance Theatre company perform around the country and details of their forthcoming shows can be found on their website at <a href="http://www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk/">www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk</a> </p><p></p><p>The mixed programme was viewed at Cast Theatre in Doncaster. Cast is an excellent community venue which has performances of a wide variety of genres of theatre. Their current and forthcoming seasons include a number of dance troupes. Full details of all of their upcoming shows can be found on their website at <a href="http://castindoncaster.com/">http://castindoncaster.com</a></p><p></p><p> </p>