Zeitgeist

It starts with a chalk circle traced upon the ground. Ritualistic. Primal. Within, seven dancers crouched in foetal position, skin whitened, hungry for the attention of light, which pours down on them. Then two glowing eyes appear. They approach and reveal themselves as two globes of blue light in the hands of a dancer. Incantatory, Bacchae-like, violent, controlled, ritualistic, the dancers re-enact the angst of the modern age using the timeless language of the body.Like the German-based Russian company Derevo, the Australian-based company Zen Zen Zo draw their inspiration from Butoh, but take it towards Cabaret in places and beyond in both directions towards myth and fantasy to explore inner space through their manipulation of outer space and vice versa.Babies play with spittle, which dances in the light. Vocal lines dance through the air as forms pulsate with stillness. A rock beat begins. Music which can only be described as Shostakovich inspired by Pachelbel played in plinky-plonk digital tones down a telephone line, mixed on a multi-track by George Crumb drifts out towards the audience, then fades.A sultry figure slinks across the stage, in a sexy red number, her stiletto heels making love to the floor as she crows ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’. Perfect, until the beat was broken by the pair of look-alike dancers who followed her. The rock beat builds, and the most moving number unfolds, primal forms rising and dipping like the tide, glowing with energy, haunting in their engagement with space.Despite the fact that the lines of the final ensemble number were not as finely aligned as they could have been, the overall arch of the programme was perfectly conceived. This was particularly impressive in what is essentially a retrospective 'best of' selection programme. A late-night show which is well worth staying up for. This is raw, imperfectly perfect theatrical dance by a world-class company. Catch them when you can – you’re in for a rare treat.