The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2022 - Issue 31

bitetheatre even when flooring one of the other dancers and stepping over them. But then it all changes, and the black costumed danc- ers bombarded the central spotlight, overpowering the single dancer until they all - black and white costumed start danc- ing simultaneously. It is powerful as the interpretation of it all had me feeling that the white-costumed dancer has one-by-one overcome her external fears that lurked in the shadows. Still, they returned to have her mimic them in a unison ensemble of movements: taking control over them. Or was it the other way round? Next, we see the white-clad dancer controlling the other dancers that have surrounded her but remained crouched, as though subservient to her demands. She slo-mo some of the movements, which gives the illusion of a film on stage; it's all very cleverly choreographed by Jennifer Romen. Despite one last ‘attack’ of the ladies in black, the one in white manages to shrug them off - all in dance form, and we see the black-clad wandering in the shadows of the stage whilst focusing on her in the spotlight who has a solo bit to the set. Along comes another wave of cannoning with arms and legs flying concurrently to the pitches of the violin in the music ‘Experience’ by Lodovico Einaudi. I am in awe of watching these ladies tell the story in perfect motion called dance. Again, we see the outer circle try to overpower the dancer in the middle with gestures of oppression, but she dances them away. My favourite dance move is when the two in black come up behind her on either side. She grabs their heads, places a palm under their chins and puppets them as though they were mere balls. This part brought a smile to my face as it juxtaposed the seriousness of the music with a tad bit of humour. Next was a surge of movement as the dancers picked up the pace to the intensity of the music and again offered a synchro- nised set of all-ensemble dance with the black-clad giving a last attempt to overcome the one in white. Then suddenly - the black-clad dancers disappeared into the shadows, leaving our soloist in the light, in an almost daze, turning round slowly looking for them. Upon not seeing them, she stood under the light in the centre and raised a fist in the air as though "I have conquered!" The audience, who were utterly silent, still and focused on the stage, all burst into a roar of applause and cheering for her 'jour- ney' we had witnessed through choreography. She turns and steps from the light into the dark shadows while the light closes on her. Cue another round of applause from the audience. I am left honoured to have witnessed such power of story-telling through body, motion and synchronisations.