The fine art of Japanese dance

AFTER THE formalities of opening night and a slightly chilly silent disco, the Dublin Dance Festival left Imma and settled into more familiar surroundings and a steady comfortable rhythm of nightly performances.

Fascinating similarities emerged through the juxtaposition of performances by Eiko & Koma at the Samuel Beckett Theatre and Hiroaki Umeda at Project. All are Japanese, but Eiko & Koma moved to New York in the 1970s while the younger Umeda lives in Japan.

In Raven, Eiko lies on a beige floor that is scattered with black feathers and fringed with straw. Slowly, she rolls to the side and curls her spine, projecting inner angst and a sense of struggle. When Koma appears, they negotiate the harsh surroundings, at one stage holding fistfuls of straw so it appears that they were growing from the stark soil, a moment's hope against an overall sense of desperation as their bodies battle the controlling influence of oppressive surroundings.

It was a sensation that carried through Night Tideand White Dance, both older works being revived through a major retrospective. In the beginning of Night Tide, their naked bodies are Pilabolus-like sculptures reflecting the mountainous landscape that surrounded them. After the monochrome world of Ravenand White Tide, White Danceappeared, by the addition of a pastel dress, blood-red tunic and warmer lighting, to be in ravishing technicolour.

It’s their first piece of choreography from 1976, and while the ever-changing sequence of movement and vocalisations mightn’t have the same aesthetic restraint of newer works, it was still utterly compelling.

Over at Project, Hiroaki Umeda merged movement, sound, lighting and images to create a world where the body seemed controlled by violent forces and found expression in his loose-limbed confrontational style.

It’s not just the loud, ear-popping twitterings and sternum-shuddering sub-bass tones that unsettles, but the ground he is standing on appears to be constantly shifting.

Memory was firmly imprinted on the body of Cédric Andrieux, a former dancer with the Merce Cunningham Company and Ballet de Lyon. His solo, created by Jérôme Bel, was a recounting of his experience as a dancer, with excerpts from repertoire and demonstrations of dance class exercises. Although Andrieux is a charming raconteur and honest performer, there is an undertone of bitchiness that isn’t present in Bel’s other creations. Nevertheless, it contains the choreographer’s usual conceptual brilliance and ties up the loose ends with aplomb.

Away from the performances, Julia Carruthers was named the festival’s new artistic director.

A former dance officer with the Arts Council of England and one of Time Outmagazine's "London's Top 100 Movers, Shakers and Opinion Makers" in 2006, she may not have the extensive programming experience as her predecessor Laurie Uprichard, but there were hints in the press statements that the festival will begin to focus more on audience development.

The Dublin Dance Festival continues until May 28th. dublindancefestival.ie