Form in Motion Productions
Black Raisin

Choreographed to cut lines across the stage, the five dancers played a tight game of follow-my-leader. With some beautiful contortions, highlighted through the use of shadow, the pace of “Black Raisin” oscillated between linear movement and a well synchronised whole. There was a loss of momentum towards the end and the driving narrative was unclear but a subtle flair for humour emerged via transport announcements mixed in with music. The relaxed costumes and novice use of light made the piece feel a little more flimsy than it actually was. As newcomers to Resolution!, Form in Motion have a lot of room for improvement but also a lot of promise.

Rajni Shah Theatre
The Awkward Position 

The motivation behind this piece seemed to rest between social critique and preaching, but ended up sounding like an adolescent trying to patronise. “The Awkward Position” played, uninspiringly, with the dynamic between three dancers and off-stage choreographer giving instructions. A chair, a microphone, some falling paper. One awkward duet saw the dancers getting intentionally entangled, a nice idea, but repeated just one time too many.

The anti-war statement made after the piece by Rajni Shah failed to politicise her art, but it did commendably inform everyone of the anti-war demonstration which will be taking place on 15th February.

Martial Dance
Neither Here Nor There 

"Neither Here Nor There" had a real dynamism to it. The music was scratched and mixed to shift between heavy beats and rhythmic jazz. Occasional salsa positions were visible amidst the powerful collage of martial arts moves choreographed into dynamic sequences. A duet with two women in flowing white was both aggressive and alluring, the backdrop of shadows accentuating the striking forms. A mesmerising solo with a chair was one of the highlights. A little immature in its development but it would be great to see Martial Dance return once they have worked on the dancers engaging rather than sparring against one another.