This isn’t a sponsored post.
BrumHour was invited to see Overflow by DanceXchange.
By Dave Massey twitter.com/BrumHour
Review: DanceXchange: Overflow at Birmingham Hippodrome
Choreographer Alexander Whitley
Five dancers Chia-Yu Hsu, Stephen Quildan, Jack Thomson, Yu-Hsien Wu and Ena Yamaguchi explore a world of light and powerful music in this seventy-minute production which is part of DanceXchange’s Spring 2022 programme.
Wearing biometric facemasks and costumes by Ana Rajcevic the performers are chased around by a main strip of light which seems to be three to four metres in length, this impressive installation is filled with many LEDs and features complex movements and patterns throughout the performance. It feels like its own character at several points as it switches from old tube style lighting to a scanning pulse or golden twinkles which reflect like sunset over the ocean horizon.
It’s been quite a while since I saw some shorter form dance like this and I felt welcomed back into the black box performance space with a big creative hug. At times the electronic music is almost harsh and dystopian, voices echo throughout with snippets of conversation resonating through the space.
The haze was like an old fashioned pea soup fog as the audience arrive and the light cuts through the haze to reveal the dancers.
I found this seventy minutes absorbing as it took me to a futuristic club like space, I longed for the club nights that had kept me awake until six am as it evoked thoughts of The Terminator’s Tek Noir club, Blade Runner and Tron Legacy. I wanted to get up and join the dancers for a night on the tiles!
A visually stunning welcome back for DanceXchange and I imagine the rest of the programme is just as bold and reflective.
DanceXchange’s spring 2022 programme runs until 2nd April 2022, find out more here: dancexchange.org.uk/performances-and-events. Discover more about Alexander Whitley Dance Company here: alexanderwhitley.com
