Hats off to Heads Up Festival: Kardomah94 presents LO:CUS Dance Theatre

Hello, hello. This week I have an exciting blog post to share with you all. Everyone knows I love to blog and wonderfully I was invited by Kardomah 94 to review a contemporary dance group performing in this months Heads Up Festival - yay! For those of you who don't know Kardomah 94, let me begin with saying - you're missing out. It's a lovely little place in Hull City Centre, located near Queen’s Gardens. Kardomah 94 provides not only a great restaurant to munch in, but also showcases local and regional talent in its handy, atmospheric theatre space at the back.

So, let’s talk about my night...

I was kindly allowed to take a friend along to see LO:CUS Dance Theatre, so we headed out early to tuck into one of Kardomah's delectable, Hull-famous pizzas before the show. I ordered a sparkling elderflower to wash down with my meal, which I must admit is my regular drink here as there aren't many other places in town you can get it - another one of Kardomah's little quirks. After umming and ahhing over the menu (because of the vast amount of tasty treats on offer), we opted for the halloumi pizza to share. It was delicious (as always) and although my stomach was fully satisfied, left me craving another!

Kardomah is popular for its welcoming vibe, cultural atmosphere and ginormous pizzas. Being a regular here, I've popped down many times for a spot of lunch or a delicious dinner. I would therefore recommend any of the food from Kardomah's mouth-watering menu, my favourites being: the halloumi pizza, the soup (of the day) and club sandwich deal and the antipasti board. Every option is carefully presented, tasty and huge in size (especially for the small price tag). I often end up taking my leftovers home to nibble on later!

Now on to the important part - the show itself! After gobbling up our food, it was time to head over to the show. We got there nice and early to ensure we bagged the best seats in the house. After all, we didn't want to miss out on any of the action.

To open the show, we were greeted by the four, fabulous, female LO:CUS dancers. Standing before us, they outlined what they're all about and how they were going to communicate this in the hour and forty minutes we were spending in their company.

'This Floating Stage'

As the lights dimmed, a white screen emerged which showed a video of the production process of a dance from start to finish. It was interesting to see, step by step, the creative thought process that goes into creating a compelling, emotional and meaningful piece of dance choreography. A poem was voiced over this piece, which really captured my attention, and gave the piece added depth and meaning. The poetry worked extremely well with Steph's concept of the body, and matched her moves as she danced around particular angles of it.

The short film gave the audience a snapshot into the amount of trial and error that goes into producing a good dance routine. We saw Steph's doodles and sketches of her newly created moves transferred onto whiteboard paper, to chronologically order her dance and piece it together bit by bit. My favourite part of the film came nearer the end when a wonderful  organ player arrived to compose the music for Steph's new dance. The music produced gelled perfectly with the choreography, and illustrated how dark emotion can be. The final piece was then performed beautifully and the audience watched the different creative techniques come together to create an original dance number.

'We haven't thought about spacing'

The next piece was much more drama-inspired. The girls danced on stage, whilst telling the audience exactly what they were doing, as they were performing. It was like watching a dance rehearsal. This performance allowed the audience to climb inside the minds of the dancers and experience the excitement and occasional frustration when trying to perfect a move. We heard noises: huffing and cheering, and saw their grins from achievement and scrunched faces of disappointment.

This piece, and the show as a whole was invested in communicating dance, instead of just performing it, something I found so fascinating because I'd never seen anything like it before. It made dance a lot more relatable, as though we as an audience had a backstage pass into the world of dance.

Poetry: Nora Hanson

What next? Well poetry of course! Nora Hanson, (who happens to be dance member, Lottie's Grandma) read us some of her delightful poems just before the interval. I have to admit I stared at her in awe; her presence was captivating, along with her writing of course. Plus, I am a sucker for poetry! Nora's poetry was both heartfelt and amusing. Giggles arose from the audience, particularly during a poem which explored the ins and outs of parent/child role reversal when growing old.

Later, poetry came back in force, but this time it wasn't a one-woman band. Instead, dancer, Lottie accompanied Nora, moving in rhythm to the words and beats of the poem as they echoed through the room. It was interesting to see again how dance can fit so well with poetry, as much as it can with music.



'Volta'

Next, a Brazilian-sounding song boomed from the speakers and the girls performed what they described as 'a walking exercise', holding on to each other tightly and relying on one another to sustain their balance. During this performance, the story was told through leg and limb movements, intriguing the audience more and more as time moved forward.

'Stand and Speak'

The next part of the show demonstrated how dance and technology go hand in hand, something which was also touched on at the beginning of the show. As the girls disappeared off stage, the white film screen emerged again, playing a music video which featured a dark, derelict building and heavy punk tunes to match. Just two of the LO:CUS members , Lottie and Tamar appeared in the video. 

 We watched the dancers carefully casting shapes in the shadows, creeping around the dark, obscure room. These cryptic movements were reminiscent of one's own mind. The video certainly supported the company's strive for individuality as this piece was substantially different, and stressed a modern take on dance and music.

'Meet me in the place between right and wrong'

In the final performance, we were greeted by four head-less females, sporting white, marshmallow-like pieces of head gear to explore how love, care and emotion can materialise into suffocation. I have to admit in certain parts of the show, my own head was lost; I had never seen such unusual dance performances. This however captured the essence of art and interpretation, and ensured the audience's brains were ticking right until the end of the show.

This dance was the most dramatised piece for me, as the facial expressions and body movements signified how claustrophobic affection can be and how interpretation of too much or too little can be experienced differently by different people. The French music that accompanied this piece worked really well. It was both romantic but peculiar, cleverly illustrating the fine line that can be crossed with affection.

The show then sadly came to a close, as the LO:CUS ladies came back on stage. Hands clapped, cheers echoed and the girls' faces beamed with delight at their great turn out.



Overall it was a great night. A big thanks again to Kardomah 94 for inviting me, entertaining me and feeding me!

If you're a big fan of theatre, the arts or just want a good night out, get looking and booking more independent events at the Heads Up Festival. (http://www.kardomah94.com/events_all)

P.s - Don't forget to book yourself in for a cheeky pizza beforehand to start your night on a high - you don't want to be known as that tummy-grumbler during the performance!

Katie X