4/5 stars
On Saturday 6 October stage@leeds played host to critically acclaimed Australian choreographer and dancer Marc Brew.
The Marc Brew Company presented Triple Bill, a compilation of his own creative work and strongest pieces to date. It saw dancers working both with and against the natural rhythms and lines of the body in disjointed, angular and fragmented ways; blended with more conventional dance technique to create a very idiosyncratic and at times deliberately awkward beauty and style.
Nocturne opened the night’s performance, inspired by J.M Whistler’s painting of the same name. In this piece the quartet of dancers- two male and two female, including Marc himself- cavorted across two beds placed on stage, leaping across one another in increasing dares of physical ability. Both the movement and use of the props were incredibly inventive, and although a paraplegic dancer, Marc continually demonstrated his ability to match the dexterity and grace of the more able-bodied male and female dancers.
Marc’s work can frequently be read as a series of physical conversations or dialogues. Notably the most emotive of the night was Marc’s tender monologue, Remember When. The audience witnessed the dancer’s intensely personal, physical account of the restraints, as well as the freedoms, of his wheelchair.
The final work explored the formal characteristics and rules of dance, and how they can be broken. Here a close collaboration with lighting technicians made for a spectacular visual dynamic that emphasised the athleticism and precision of the dancers.
Each of the three pieces pivoted on a sensuous and raw physicality that explored the rich terrain on offer when the body is pushed as far to its limits as possible, making us reassess our own habitual movements and negotiations of space. As both dancer and choreographer, Marc appears to be intent on breaking down gestural ‘norms’ in order to generate new solutions to the ‘problem’ of movement.
An evening of thought-provoking and truly awe-inspiring dance, Triple Bill seems to have solidified Marc Brew’s position in the vanguard of contemporary dance development.
Tom McGinn
Leeds Student’s Tom McGinn spoke to Marc Brew after the show to learn about his successes as a paraplegic dancer
– Firstly, how did you become a dancer?
Like many dancers I began from an early age, training from the age of 8. I was always interested in movement and encouraged by those who recognised some talent in me to pursue it as a career. I trained as an able-bodied dancer at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and The Australian Ballet School, going on to work with numerous professional ballet companies. It was during my time in South Africa working with the state Theatre Ballet Company that I acquired my disability in a car accident. I am now a wheelchair user.
– That must have been very challenging, especially considering your passion for dance.
It wasn’t easy but I found that my dance training and the discipline involved helped get me back into work. All my friends were dancers and so it was invaluable to have their support while I began to reassess my new physicality and movement potential.
– ‘Fusional Fragments’, one of the parts of Triple Bill, was commissioned as part of the Cultural Olympiad to celebrate the London 2012 Games. Are you aware of a social and cultural shift in the perception of disability in the wake of the Paralympics?
I think people’s perceptions have definitely opened out since the Olympics and Paralympics. People have got past an acknowledgement of difference and realise now that disabled performers and athletes are just like any body else; they’re striving to achieve the best they can and succeeding in doing amazing things. You no longer look simply at the disability but at the level of excellence in what people can do. There’s more common ground, which is great.
– What is your creative process and do you have a preference for performing or choreography?
I usually start with an idea or concept. The last piece you saw, ‘Fusional Fragments’, was concerned with the past in the sense of my own personal history, looking at the different styles of dance I went through, and also looking at how a displacement of traditional shapes and forms can create new ones. It is about seeing where that evolution can take you. I believe a part of my work is now informed and derived from my own physicality and aesthetic, and I am very interested in how restriction can enable rather than limit the creation of interesting possibilities.
In terms of choreographing and performing work, I enjoy both equally as much. I owe a lot to those who have helped to nurture and support me as a dancer yet I also have a passion to create. At the moment however, I would suppose that I am more excited by the creative ideas I want to share with performers and audiences. Hopefully they are moved by and enjoy them as much as I do!
– The show was certainly a pleasure to watch and really inspiring. How can people find out more?
We are currently touring this production; the next two venues are Aberdeen and Glasgow later this month. In Glasgow, percussionist Evelyn Glennie -who opened the Olympic ceremony- will be performing live alongside us which is very exciting.
To find out more about the Marc Brew Company; to see his dance performances and engage with his teaching and workshops, go to www.marcbrew.com