On the 13th of April, in the atmospheric venue of TIF theatre in Kassel, Deborah Smith-Wicke's latest work titled "Collision Prevention Assist Plus" was presented, before the choreographer and pedagogue also received a prize for her contribution to culture and the city.
The 50 min. work, was set in a laboratory semi-horrid inclined, as it alluded to experiments carried out on humans and for humans in the style of X-files and other similar films, and semi-alluding to feminist allegory subverting glossy magazine stupidity, in particular as it is seen in articles like "who is the man of your dreams", "the signs that will make you know he is the one", "can he get you?" or "what he must do in the first date."
In the work, the myth of the male-as-knightly troubadour of love and the miserable disillusioned romanticism of coy girliness were sacrificed in favour of presenting the reality of everyday antagonism, personality clashes, repression and cynicism.
The movement vocabulary of the duet, because Collision Prevention Assist Plus is essentially a duet, with the particpation of one more person who carries out simple "lab tasks", is based on contemporary dance techniques as well as kung-fu. There is true sweat and acrobatics that the dancers carry out impeccably, but one cannot stop wondering where dance stops and martial arts take over.
Thatre dance has enriched its vocabulary drawing upon many material that tehatre dance uses and blends with contemporary techniques in different quantities with the mediation of time, space, quality of movement, dynamics and much more. (I hope I don't sound too Laban-ish.)
So, after tai-chi and exhibition of social solidarity in the '60s more energetic oriental genres will possibly take over the dance scene. In the most physical side of theatre dance of today, kung-fu offers great possibilities and adds elegance and intonation in the staccato of exchanged attacks between partners.
Sini Mantere and Dhimas Satwiko were physical and energetic, two budding dancers who are expected to give a lot with gained maturity through performances and time spent on stage. Aura Antikainen a lovely, cold, lab assistant. The text was fun and avoided cliches on a theme such as the battle of the sexes that is so old and yet Deborah Smith-Wicke showed with respect and humane feeling that there is still a lot to be said on it suffice to have collision prevention assist-ance.
(photo credit: Karl-Heinz Mierke).
