The Big World in Small Spaces

London has very little to do to convince the world of its artiness. It’s often given that eye-roll inducing title of a ‘world city;’ whatever your heart wishes to see will probably, at some point, make its way through London. This is especially true for dance, the city does boast a multitude of excellent dance venues and festivals after all. But as the leaves turn and the dance season launches, my eye was pulled away from the warring opening nights of the Royal and English National Ballets, from the main stage offerings at Sadler’s Wells and its flashy East London counterpart. Instead, I was drawn to four works, both British and international, bringing world class dance to black box spaces.

(…)

 

Dam Van Huynh’s “Exquisite Noise.” Photograph by Red Manhattan Photography

Back at the Place things take a darker turn with Hackney based choreographer Dam Van Huynh’s “Exquisite Noise.” It’s an ode to defiance and dissent which makes its return to London after a tour across England. Upon entry we’re handed earplugs and are forewarned that the work will be filled with strobes and haze. Before the dancing starts the audience slowly files into the theatre as Van Huynh hosts a pre-show conversation. He has a calm demeanour and a gentle voice, the dancers dutifully warm up on stage and wave to friends in the crowd. Are a group of people who seem so pleasant really going to subject us to an all-out assault on the senses?

But Van Huynh’s interest in the noise and flash isn’t a boorish middle finger to theatrical polity, the work is more like a lightning rod of communal rage. The dancers, dressed a bit like they’re heading to a CrossFit class, scream into each other’s gaping mouths. They push and pull their castmates, playing with domination and capitulation. Sometimes they are the oppressor, other times it seems as if they are instilling a willing force into their comrades. Ian Tang’s live electronic noise mixes with highly distorted spoken dialogue courtesy of the likes of Walt Whitman, Audre Lorde, and bell hooks. The chaos and sheer force of “Exquisite Noise” does not inspire an ethical realisation among the audience, but if you simply read the news you too feel like getting up there and joining the fray. Van Huynh manages something quite rare here: turning very real, visceral anger into a thing of beauty. It’s a political, sweaty mess, and utterly human.

Dam Van Huynh, though well established in the dance scene in London, also holds connections from further afield. Originally from Vietnam, his family sought refuge in the United States. The Empire, thankfully, is long dead, yet there remains a distinctively international scope to London’s dance scene. Be it from those who have found a home here, or others who are just stopping by. Britain finds itself firmly planted in an era where the streets of the capitol bristle with anti-refugee marches and jingoistic graffiti. As an immigrant, the reality seems apparent: a London that turns its back on the world around it would barely be London at all.

Link to review