First outing on Saturday night – there was quite a sense of anticipation – the start of something exciting! The Dome at Brighton was buzzing… in fact Brighton generally was buzzing with post-children’s parade and pre-gig excitement in the early evening sunshine.
Hundreds of people arrived in the Dome bar for pre-performance drinks before a concert by the London Symphony Orchestra, or, as in our case, before an eagerly awaited performance by the Charles Linehan Company at the Corn Exchange.
The evening included three items – a short film, a pilot for a new work in collaboration with artist Karolis Janulis, known for his photographs shot from drones; a performance by BalletBoyz William Trevitt and Michael Nunn with a comic twist and new work by Charles Linehan, A Quarter Plus Green.
Sadly, earlier excitement wasn’t fully rewarded. We emerged at the end not quite knowing what to think – “puzzled” was the most commonly used adjective, and “opaque” another favourite. I, as complete dance ignoramus assumed that I’d missed something important… didn’t understand the language… but maybe I’m being a bit hard on myself. On the train on the way home, I read an article by Sanjoyroy profiling Charles Linehan and discovered that he is know as a choreographer whose work is “too distilled and unflashy for popular appeal”. Aah… perhaps I’m excused then. http://sanjoyroy.net/2001/10/profile-charles-linehan/
The most memorable part of the evening for me was the little film with its playful compositions of wandering, running, jumping, somersaulting shadows filmed from high above, like little insect figures with bits of rag tied to their feet. It reminded me of this work by Anne-Marie Creamer in a funny sort of way.
Meeting the Pied Piper in Brasov
Karolis Janulis drone photography in The Telegraph
NEXT… Meet outside Natwest Bank at 8.30pm…
