Gelede Dance Company

6:30pm Wednesday 30th May 2007

This was the premiere of Menelva Harry's new work, Snake in the Geisha Palm, an intriguing and effective piece highlighting her interest in oriental martial arts.

It's a blend of Chinese and Japanese influences, and tells of two Geishas, both in love with the same man who has seduced them, who exact revenge through their expertise in the art of fighting with batons.

The piece opens to skittering, bird-like percussion by composer Alonso Mendoza, to which four women in traditional long Japanese dresses move gracefully in formal unison. The dresses are then discarded, leaving them in short skirts, and free to take part in their martial training, their powerful moves made more dramatic by the large shadows cast on to the walls by the stage lighting.

Now we meet the lover, a striking characterisation by the masked Noemi Viana Garcia. She moves low over the ground, legs splayed, crouching, intimidating and - I suppose - snake-like. She manipulates her baton as though it is an extension of her own body, a fifth limb. Menacing and sexy, you can see why she (he) appeals to the Geishas she plans to seduce. The duets with the lover give both Nicola Moses and Ayano Honda opportunities to show what they can do with quite complex choreography, and Honda, in addition, performs a clever dance in which she manipulates two fans, using the snap of their opening and closing to add to the percussive music.

A long scene in which the geishas and two companions get increasingly drunk is enhanced by the wailing, sliding music. There is a delirious feeling as the four dance their way into a writhing knot of limbs. In the effective climax to the piece, the women attack the baton-wielding lover, each with a baton of her own.

d=2,2,1This is close-in fighting, cleverly and carefully choreographed to avoid injury to the dancers. We see the art of Bagua, fluid and powerful, and also Drunken Style Boxing, in which the practitioner uses swaying and falling to confuse the opponent. Who wins this fight is never quite resolved - an open ending to an impressive piece.This was the premiere of Menelva Harry's new work, Snake in the Geisha Palm, an intriguing and effective piece highlighting her interest in oriental martial arts.

It's a blend of Chinese and Japanese influences, and tells of two Geishas, both in love with the same man who has seduced them, who exact revenge through their expertise in the art of fighting with batons.

The piece opens to skittering, bird-like percussion by composer Alonso Mendoza, to which four women in traditional long Japanese dresses move gracefully in formal unison. The dresses are then discarded, leaving them in short skirts, and free to take part in their martial training, their powerful moves made more dramatic by the large shadows cast on to the walls by the stage lighting.

Now we meet the lover, a striking characterisation by the masked Noemi Viana Garcia. She moves low over the ground, legs splayed, crouching, intimidating and - I suppose - snake-like. She manipulates her baton as though it is an extension of her own body, a fifth limb. Menacing and sexy, you can see why she (he) appeals to the Geishas she plans to seduce. The duets with the lover give both Nicola Moses and Ayano Honda opportunities to show what they can do with quite complex choreography, and Honda, in addition, performs a clever dance in which she manipulates two fans, using the snap of their opening and closing to add to the percussive music.

A long scene in which the geishas and two companions get increasingly drunk is enhanced by the wailing, sliding music. There is a delirious feeling as the four dance their way into a writhing knot of limbs. In the effective climax to the piece, the women attack the baton-wielding lover, each with a baton of her own.

This is close-in fighting, cleverly and carefully choreographed to avoid injury to the dancers. We see the art of Bagua, fluid and powerful, and also Drunken Style Boxing, in which the practitioner uses swaying and falling to confuse the opponent. Who wins this fight is never quite resolved - an open ending to an impressive piece.

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