Melbourne Reviews

Visits from interstate dance companies are an infrequent treat, so to have South Australian company Restless here twice in one year feels like an embarrassment of riches.

The last time we saw the mixed ability dance company was in the RISING festival when they collaborated with Chunky Move. Choreographer Antony Hamilton had the dancers manipulating and dancing within large vinyl geometric sculptures, continually building, toppling and re-constructing a dynamic visual installation.  

Now here in Exposed, the scenario could not be more opposite. Seven diverse dancers bring nothing but themselves to an unadorned stage, empty except for a shimmery, semi-sheer fabric that suspends above, behind and in front of the space at different moments. Geoff Cobham’s set and lighting design create enough texture to define and highlight the individuals while remaining simple and egalitarian.  

Exposed is an apt name for the piece which, at its core, is about humans moving together and apart, in harmony and discord, with many different emotions and vulnerabilities laid bare through the direct and unfussy movement. 

Choreographer Michelle Ryan creates beautiful vignettes, with a real sensitivity and pathos, sometimes simply through a hand on a shoulder or a line of bodies, each coiled foetal style along the edge of the stage.  

In a moodily lit opening and from behind the hanging fabric, the ensemble progress through a slow ritual of getting dressing, with each basking in their own light. Costumes (by Renate Henschke) are simple pastels for dresses, pants and t-shirts and, like everything in the work, are subtle and unassuming.  

Clothing – and the removing of it – is one of the most obvious forms of exposure and from this literal image, the physical scenarios unfold quietly and softly. This understated energy drifts through the entire piece, confident and genuine in its humbleness.  

The music (by Hilary Kleinig and Emily Tulloch) sustains a singular, meditative quality – and while this feels mono-dynamic, it’s a steadying, calming force that echoes the visual and physical tone of the work.  

All seven dancers – Jianna Georgiou, Alexis Luke, Madalene Macera, Michael Noble, Darcy Carpenter, Charlie Wilkins, Bhodi Hudson – bring their full selves to the table and work supportively as a cast. While they all have different levels of trainings, there is consistency of technique and quality evenly across the group.  

Contemporary dance can get overly caught up in spectacle and complexity. Exposed is refreshing for not doing that and staying focused on just dancing its collection of vignettes, plain and simple.  

Relationships emerge just through the physicality itself, enhanced by the highly nuanced use of breath work as an underlying principle in the piece’s construction and execution.