Begin Anywhere

Magdalena Hylak in Begin Anywhere presented by John Scott’s Irish Modern Dance Theatre. Image, Nir Arieli.

****

Begin Anywhere. A complex illusion of natural simplicity. Of minimising predictable patterns. Of subverting focus on the front of the body. All space, occupied or otherwise, being equal in value and importance. Similarly with movement, which often displays competing relationships regarding direction, rhythm, fluidity and timing. Underscoring dance’s connection to life, not only to music, which is itself subverted. The whole embracing collaboration and subverting isolationism. The subjective become the collective; the individualised ensemble. Composition and choreography refuting the habitual in pursuit of chance. But of whose choreography are we speaking? John Scott or Merce Cunningham? The answer is both. In Begin Anywhere by John Scott’s Irish Modern Dance Theatre, which premiered to great acclaim at The Irish Arts Centre, New York in February, four solos by Cunningham seamlessly shift into the eponymous new work by Scott and musician Mel Mercier. And the contrast is somewhat telling.

It’s not a case of emphasis or degrees, or of distinctions without a difference. Despite choreographic similarities, and Scott’s avowed devotion to all things Cunningham, Scott speaks his own choreographic language. If Four Solos speak to form as content, Begin Anywhere speaks to content becoming form. If Cunningham appears to be searching for something, for Scott that something is the search itself. Indeed, if Four Solos ends too quickly, Begin Anywhere struggles to end its search for searching’s sake. Ultimately, Scott and Cunningham might wield similar, choreographic coins, but they reveal entirely different sides.

Begin Anywhere presented by John Scott’s Irish Modern Dance Theatre. Image, Nir Arieli.

Take Cunningham's Four Solos, which includes Changeling (1957), Solo (1975), along with excerpted solos from RainForest (1968) and Travelogue (1977). Despite covering two decades, there’s precious little new under Cunningham’s classical, statuesque stars. The solos cohesion, built around a marriage of Western ballet and Eastern martial arts, with both married to John King’s composition, sees evolving poses played out against white noise, Zappa-esque bass rhythms and the gong-like sound of a Zen bowl. Dancers Magdalena Hylak, Boris Charrion, and François Malbranque plumbing spiritual depths with ballet poses and movements offset by animal archetypes. Soloists overlapping as they transition in and out of the space dressed in Cunningham’s recognisable uniform.

What Begin Anywhere sacrifices in terms of depth it compensates for with greater range and richness. And, arguably, humanity, trading idealised spirituality for something more fleshed and visceral. Four Solos selecting the dignified, ideal best of us; Begin Anywhere unafraid of the mess we are, right down to clothing for our shuddering, shaking, shouting bodies. An opening duet embodying the contemplative stillness of Cunningham is offset by an energetic explosion of exuberant tap as a soloist dances, cabaret style, across the stage establishing a jumping off point: we’re no longer in Cunningham’s Kansas but Scott’s Oz. Theory, like a bad joke reality ignores, is evident in interviews about Cunningham played as a constant loop with Mercier’s Irish traditional based score; with music played live onstage. Musicians Caoimhe Uí Fhlathata, Kevin McNally, Mick O'Shea and Mercier adding to the visual backdrop. Against which Scott’s energetic choreography channels Jackson Pollock, flinging endless choreographic paint to see what emerges. Leaving a sense of a serious minded search laced with playfulness. Of humour, heart, and spontaneity. Yet the longer it runs, the more the search seems like an endless experiment. If that’s true of life, it’s less satisfying in art where wheat gets separated from the chaff.

Begin Anywhere presented by John Scott’s Irish Modern Dance Theatre. Image, Nir Arieli.

If Cunningham mines for ingots, Scott sifts through dance’s riverbed seeking nuggets, and discovers many. But where Cunningham shines his gold with classical rigour and curated selection, Scott shows you the dust and dirt of randomness and chance. If the end sees dancers Vinicius Martins Araujo, Boris Charrion, Magdalena Hylak, François Malbranque and Adam O'Reilly arrive at a shared, swirling pattern in conversation with Mercier’s score, it can seem too late. By then, even a clever tableaux building sequence established from simple points of contact between dancers as they move across the stage looks like a rehearsal room exercise that's overplayed its hand. Risking, retrospectively, the same judgement on an energised counting sequence invested with joy. Asking the question, can experimentation be the finished artwork? A little process goes along way. A lot of process risk looking like…a lot of process. One thing’s for sure, where Cunningham’s solos attempt to control chance; Scott’s Begin Anywhere bravely submits to it.

There’s a ton of historical and academic information in the programme notes and online which there’s no point repeating here. It is worth remembering, however, that greatness results from standing on the shoulders of giants. The phrase suggests a diminutive quality. Yet when you recall Cunningham’s formative years with Martha Graham, you realise that giants stand on the shoulders of fellow giants. Begin Anywhere is not mimicry, flattery or a tribute band testament to the inimitable Cunningham. It’s taking work that’s beginning to look historical and finding ways to continue its conversations into today. Scott, a giant standing on the shoulder of a fellow giant, trying to honour the great master’s legacy by seeing further into the future. Scott’s Irish Modern Dance Theatre celebrating thirty three years in the business of dance with this thought provoking and richly revealing production. Thirty three years. That doesn’t happen by chance, no pun intended. Here’s looking forward to their next exciting chapter.

So, where should Scott begin?

Hazard a wild guess.

Begin Anywhere, presented by John Scott’s Irish Modern Dance Theatre, runs at The Project Arts Centre until March 15 before transferring to The Civic, Tallaght, on March 18.

For more information visit The Project Arts Centre or The Civic Theatre.