The language of modern dance seems more ephemeral than that of the classical tradition, yet Daghda, in their production of Chimera, give it a cohesion which at times is almost monumental.
At the Firkin Crane, this work offers a performance which takes the company significantly beyond the combination of poses and acrobatics often presented as dance in the contemporary idiom. Director Mary Nunan's choreography uses the single body as medium; the dancers move in broken sequences yet maintain a fluid individual style.
The engagement with each other is fleeting, allowing only the elevation necessary to the interpretation. The abrupt dislocations have a dramatic quality which doesn't quite compensate for the interruption of narrative; the rhythms are internal, the movement concentrated, even restricted.
Despite the glow of Paul Keogan's lighting and the mobile video design and frame by Peter Morgan and Mike Burke Chimera has an arid atmosphere. The music from several sources, arranged by Natasha Lohan, is of the building-site, kitchen-sink and broken-needle genre, intriguing in itself but taxing over 11/2 hours. Meaning and purpose are recognisable of course; the occasional hint of lyric possibility only emphasises the resolution of the company to adhere to its stern, but convincing, style.