|
'Phantasmaton'
Commission
for Shobana
Jeyasingh Dance Company, UK/European tour in London 2002
including
Queen Elizabeth Hall London
The
film, projected on stage throughout the dance performance, is
influenced by my interest in cybernetic and expanded cinema. It
combines digital film and artificial life sequences, which were
developed simultaneously alongside the systems and patterns within
the choreography.
Choreography
: Shobana Jeyasingh
Music
: Jocelyn Pook
Film
:Pete Gomes
Live
voice : Natacha Atlas
Stage
design : Joanna Parker
Phantasmaton
**** The Guardian 6th Feburary 2002 (Judith Mackrell)
"Electronic
dancing images are all the rage among choreographers at the moment
- and it's no longer a surprise to see computer generated performers
striding around among live among men and women on stage. But while
the virtual bodies introduced by Merce Cunningham and Wayne Mc
Gregor seem to be visiting from some alien planet or future epoch,
the pixilated dancer in Shobana Jeyasinghs's new piece Phantasmaton
comes from a classical past.
Projected
in black and white onto a geometric patchwork of screens, she
is a traditional bharata natyam soloist in full make up and Indian
dress - and her flickering, wide eyed presence haunts the stage
upon which her 21st Century descendants experiment with variants
on her ancient temple dancing. She signals that Phantasmaton will
be a continuation of Jeyasingh's personal synthesis of old and
new, east and west. She is also one reason why the work is one
of the choreographer's most beautiful and ambitious to date."
|
