Arnica 9CH is an exposé of a dancer’s private life and the consequences she faces from her determined efforts to meet the level of perfection expected of a dancer.A bare stage is all Maud Liardon needs; this piece is all about her as a performer and as an individual. She takes influences from film and a variety of different modes of performance to shape and form a thought-provoking show. Filmed sections of her memories and personal life are entwined with choreography that mocks the nature of the performer. Liardon demonstrates a good use of comedy to be able to share her story easily. You might think from the first minute of the production that you’re stuck there for another 39 filled with poignant movement and meaning in space, which you don’t actually understand. Liardon, however, cuts straight through this and layers her choreography with a pre-recorded consciousness that plays out and provides a self-mocking tone to the realities of what a performer is really thinking. There is a lovely section where she experiments with a new form of delivery: dance through a cookery show. She introduces the dance equivalent of each ingredient or cooking action and then performs the chosen choreography in her own equivalent to cooking and chopping. It makes for a very entertaining and playful moment that Liardon shares with the audience, inviting them in further to her investigation of the undervalued performer.Liardon directly engages the audience throughout the piece with a matter-of-fact style of delivery. This results in an interesting and new take on a piece about herself and she successfully prevents it from becoming self-absorbed and boring. There is room for improvement, or further exploration into the inclusion of comedy, to allow easier digestion of her more distressing material.
