Aracaladanza is a vibrant, enthusiastic company from Spain that has gained fame for its sense of fantasy, imagination and magic, and for its eclectic choice of subject matter. For Clouds, the company was inspired by the work of French surrealist painter René Magritte, who loved his bowler hats. And clouds. And sheep. And balloons. And many other things that don’t seem to belong together.
Aracaldanza collected some of Magritte’s favourite things and used them to examine the nature of reality and our perception of it: how we internalise it and how we make it our own, turning it into other objects, other experiences. They invite us, so the program tells us, to open a door – the one in our heads that allows us to imagine whatever we want.
Aracaladanza specialises in producing programs suitable for young audiences, and as with all really good productions produced for kids, Clouds contains material that will set adults a-thinking and a-laughing. It reminds us that we can never be sure of the boundaries of reality. Is that a cloud or a sheep? Is that shadow-play or a projection onto the backcloth? Who are those people whose heads seem to have been replaced by balloons?
Magritte assures us that there is no meaning to his work, yet Clouds, I think, owes not a little to existentialism as well as surrealism, in that it shows us we must create our own meaning, in life as well as art. But let’s not over-intellectualise – Clouds is never anything other than damned good entertainment, whatever one wants to read into it. It was, quite honestly, the most fun I’ve had at a dance performance for years.
The eight dancers were flat out for 50 minutes – not just dancing, but whizzing off stage and returning in what seemed like only seconds in different costumes, each one more imaginative than the last. They started off in black overcoats and bowler hats, and as the work progressed, the wardrobe became more fanciful and more colourful. The sets and lighting, also, became more and more surreal as the performance went on. The music was carefully chosen and always utterly appropriate.
I would love one of our local companies to acquire this work, if Aracaladanza can be persuaded to share it. A season of only four performances was not long enough for it to be exposed to everyone who would enjoy it – and that, I think, would include almost the whole population of Perth. Of Australia. Of the world!
Viva Aracaladanza!
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Aracaladanza presents
Clouds
Director: Enrique Cabrera
Choreography: Enrique Cabrera and the company
Dancers: Carolina Arija Gallardo, Ignacio Martin Prieto, Jimena Trueba Toca, Jorge Breo Salgueiro, Olga Llardo Valls, Raquel de la Plaza Húmera
Assistant Director: Natalie Camolez
Original Music: Mariano Lozano P. Ramos
Additional Music: Penguin Café Orchestra
Costume Design: Elisa Sanz
Set Design: Elisa Sanz and Ricardo Vergne
Lighting: Pedro Yagȕe
Regal Theatre, Perth
14 – 17 February
Perth Festival 2013
www.perthfestival.com.au
8 February – 2 March
