Brutal and beautiful, a ‘must-see’ performance
The Odyssey by the Mark Bruce Company performed at DanceEast 22nd & 23rd April.
This interpretation of the epic voyage takes us into the darker recesses of human endeavor visualized through dramatic choreography. Odysseus travels back and forth through time to confront torments from a grotesque Santa to malicious Gods, the Kraken and mythical Sirens. Accompanied by a wonderful sound-scape, which includes Mark Bruce’s specially commissioned pieces for the dance intermingled with Bach, Mozart, Tom Waits and Sinatra will have your spine tingling.
The lead dancers are as convincing as actors, as they are accomplished dancers, and the principles deliver some spell binding duets. Christopher Tandy is as graceful as he is powerful and his duet with Mortal man is wonderful, overall a powerfully dynamic performance from an extremely talented dance group.
The productions brilliant set design transformed imaginatively from a tube tunnel to an altar and into a long ship battling storm tossed seas, works really well and makes the most of the space.
This was my first visit to DanceEast and I was impressed. Wonderful auditorium with great acoustics and facilities, it must be a great place to study and perform. We are very fortunate to have such a great venue at the Waterfront.
In conclusion, this is brutal and beautiful at the same time, a real ‘must see’ track them down and join the journey.
Review by Kimberly Webster, undergraduate at University Campus Suffolk
