Above, under & beyond the rainbow: There We Have Been and Without Stars -James Cousins Co. In Manila

To be part of the viewing public that was to witness the premiere of 2 dance masterpieces here in Asia, is something one shouldn’t miss. Such was the case last October 9, 2014. Philippines, please welcome James Cousins Company from the UK!

James Cousins – touted as a rising star by Britain’s national daily – created two dance masterpieces based on Haruki Murakami’s literary work “Norwegian Wood”. This twin-bill production is now on its Asian tour. It started with a Philippine presentation held at the PETA Theater Center and at the CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines), to be followed with a Malaysian and Vietnam staging within the year. This staging was made possible here in the Philippines with the solid relationship between PETA (Philippine Education Theater Association) and the British Council (read my other blog entry http://icemagehigh.blogspot.com/2014/10/pr-asian-premiere-of-british.html - a press release provided by PETA and Mr. Toots Tolentino) .

The press preview of these dance pieces was held at the PETA Theater Center- located at #5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, QC, and then it would have a showing at the CCP. Going there on a weekday is a bit of a challenge (hint!), so make sure you give ample time for travelling – especially if you don’t know where it is in the first place. I was hoping to be there early but heavy traffic got me, plus I got off at the wrong stop – which mean, I got lost, and my connectivity is acting up. I arrived at 20-minutes before the show started. Twenty minutes used to register, say “hi” to friends and familiar faces, grab a bite, browse through the press kit, get a seat at the press box and post about the event in Instagram. Whew!

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There We Have Been focuses on the first half of Murakami’s novel, wherein two dancers enact the development of relationships between the novel’s protagonist and his late best friend's girlfriend. This duet sees English performers Aaron Vickers and Lisa Welham intensely folding, wrapping and balancing, with the female character never once touching the floor.

Without Stars tells the other half of the story. Framed from the male protagonists’ point of view, the piece for three dancers tells the story of a man on the brink of losing the life of his love. The dance piece features international contemporary dancers Albert Garcia (Spain), Chihiro Kawasaki (Japan) and Georges Hann (UK).

-excerpt is from the press release provided by PETA and Mr.Toots Tolentino

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The dance pieces were exquisite! I am haven’t read the literary piece but based on the presentation, James Cousins Company was able to bring it to life in the form of dance. The technicality and artistry of the movements were such a delight to behold! Both dance pieces are indeed masterpieces!

The way the dancers owned the stage was something to witness. They extended themselves in such a way that I had a feeling that the stage wasn’t big enough for them. But as my visual perception adjusted, I get to see them weave the story and create that cinematic feel. The lights design definitely helped create that effect. Normally, when you talk about stage works one would usually use the terminology theatrical but for this creation it was both theatrical and cinematic in nature. You get that visual impact of a flashback and screen framing that is cinematic. You also get that theatrical feel because you interpret the movement into words and see the world that they move at in your mind.

Without Stars is a pure combination of solo pieces, pas de deux and trois. The complex weaving of arms was clearly an elaborate way of showing an interaction that goes deep beyond plain sexual level. The shift of emotions was fast that it leaves you holding your breath as you wait what will happen next. It started with scenarios that are somewhat disconnected, because it was all flashbacks from the protagonist mind, but as the dance progresses the story unravels and presented the conflict that is happening. On the technical side of things, the lights and the starting sound effects used were truly effective to give you that flashback feeling. Think of a phonograph being used, how the sound comes out from that machine and now think of the disk placed has scratches – that was the exact sound during the flashback sequence. It was something you would expect from a film not on stage. Not only did it give a flashback feeling but it was also important in the emotional development of the piece.

James did placed a little twist in this piece; instead of a 2 female and 2 male characters as the book dictates, he opted to use 1 female and 3 male dancers – making 1 male doing a female intended role! For me, it was a wise decision because it became more modern in terms of touching gender issues and relevance. In the book, it was a male torn between two female love; on stage it was, visually speaking, a male torn between a male and a female love. If you get to go beyond that twist, you still get to see the springboard of this piece – a man between two loves.

Dancing this piece in the Asian tour were Chichiro Kawasaki (Japan), Albert Garcia (Spain), Georges Hann and Gareth Mole (UK).

The pas de deux between Chichiro and Gareth was a delight to see. The way they give support and strength to one another as they do their parts in this piece. There was a connection tangle that crosses time making the flashback sequence effective. The pas de deux between Gareth and Albert is another matter. Visually onstage, Albert seems to be so tall but it wasn’t a hinder to do his part effectively. He was so flexible that you would think he doesn’t have a single joint in his body. What Albert has in height is the counterpoint with Gareth in width, visually speaking. Gareth seems to be so wide that it becomes a question in my mind as to how he moves so smoothly on stage. His, Gareth, shift of emotion is so exquisite that it showed not only in his face but especially through his body. Since Albert’s part is based on a female character, as a dancer, he was able to show that character on stage and its different facets -the teasing, demanding, understanding, hurt and loving part of his character. He presented and danced his character to the hilt. The partnership between Gareth and Albert is so intense that you can feel it as they dance on stage. The needy feeling that passes between them is truly felt, same as the sexual connectivity that the dance demanded. True to say that the impact is made different and stronger because visually you see two male dancers “talk” about love, sex, conflict in a relationship and acceptance between them. They were all like water flows that are guided to intertwine and untwine as commanded or threads smoothly woven together resulting to no snags at all. That is how artistically clean this dance piece is. Like silk flags, when blown by the wind or played at by people, all you see are curves- no corners, simply curves of varying proportions; depending on the strength placed and the intent.

There We Have Been is one unforgettable pas de deux to behold! This is a pas de deux between Chichiro Kawasaki and Georges Hann. When they say that this is one piece wherein the female dancer’s feet never touch the floor, they sure are not joking about it. She made use of her partner’s body as her stage.

Opening scene of this dance piece is lights hitting the top part of the female dancer who seems to be floating because of the distance between the floor and her supposed feet. Seeing the height that she is on, she could only be standing on something - on this case it is someone. And please note that she is doing movements at this point. On a performer’s point of view (since I was once a performer on stage – both as an actor and a dancer), it is not easy to move when you are elevated and only has a foot area of 3 to 4 inches add to that the fact that you don’t get to see your feet because of the light on your face. This was a dance of trust and confidence.

This was one piece that truly showed the strength of the male dancer, on this case, of Georges Hann. He was like a magician making Chichiro float on air! Not only does he have a strong upper body but his lower body strength was also put into test in this dance. Georges’ plays a dual role in this dance; he dances his part of the story and at the same time serves as the stage for Chichiro as she tells her side of the story. When Georges dances, he not only dances his piece but lives it as well. At this piece, he dances as if he is facing his partner and not carrying her all the time. There was a point in the dance that I thought a “shake” occurred – a flaw in presentation so to speak – but I was wrong. It was a sequence designed to show the conflict between the characters. It was choreographed in such a way that there is shifting in the position of the female dancer from a high position to a lower position, with a turn made by the male dancer and add to that the shake that I mentioned. I literally held my breath, for fear, but I realized that it was all part of the dance.

When you get to see Chichiro offstage, you see a slim and delicate person but onstage she is big and full of strength! When she flexes, she flexes up to her toes! Her pointes are really pointed making her lower extremities looks like a knife. Whenever she does an arc, it is done in different levels that showed her flexibility. Her dancing can be compared to water being held, powerful and rich in depth. She has controlled strength waiting to be released and emotion so deep that you feel what she is trying to say through her movements.

Despite the change of dancers for the Asian Tour, the performance given by James Cousins Company was still breathtaking and a wonder to behold. No shortchange happening, simply stimulation by sight, by sound and of the heart.

After the preview, media practitioners were asked to stay and have a little moment with the company. Various questions were thrown in and were answered gracefully by James himself and the dancers. One of the questions that I threw to James that night was whether it was his intent to make some parts cinematic in effect and his response was: “Yes. I like film and this is my small contribution in this collaborative work.”

As a lover of the arts, this was one twin-bill presentation that truly got my attention as a viewer and a former dancer. The performance was clean and smooth. The dancers owned that moment as they are on stage. The technical effects were clearly designed to hi-light the piece and not distort it. As a former theater practitioner, this was something that truly tickled my memories of my time on stage and the desire to be back on stage as a performer. I am not after the applause but what I miss is that sense of fulfillment of performing your heart out for the people – your audience. As a blogger, it was a delight to see, write and share the experience of watching James Cousins Company perform. This was indeed a night worth talking about and sharing it to the public.

As people would say, nothing beats a live performance. For me, nothing beats a smooth, clean and precise live performance of any artist for that matter. The performance of James Cousins Company is truly something worth the audience mind, senses and time. Thank you to PETA and the British Council for this opportunity and moment!

Hail to all artist and art lovers!

Photos:

(All photos showing the dance piece used in this article was provided by PETA)