INIT: The Warm Up Project – Dublin Fringe Festival – Review

Performances – 15 & 16 September
Venue – The Lir Academy – Studio 1

Billed as “three dancers and a DJ” this does exactly what was expected of it. The three female dancers are dressed in tracksuit bottoms and t-shirts. There are also three white chairs on stage, which the performers return to when they are not dancing. The DJ in question is Robbie Kitt (brother of David Kitt) who has worked as a DJ and musician in Ireland for many years. He is positioned at the front of the stage with his back to the audience. He uses a variety of electronic devices to control our audio experience. Those expecting two turntables will be disappointed as it is a purely electronic feast! The walls of the Lir studio one are exposed and there is no hint of a set in this stripped back performance.

Lucia Kickham is the choreographer of the piece. Lucia trained in the Netherlands and has worked with companies such as Junk Ensemble, Liz Roche Company and Philip Connaughton. This piece gives no hint of a story line or other script and is purely about the joy of movement and music.

There was a technical problem in this performance, as there was a loud bang before the stage was plunged into complete darkness. It was unfortunate for the show as it is quite an immersive experience and the ten minute break which followed did take the audience out of the moment, but there was a lot to enjoy in this new work.

The music of the production was well mixed by Kitt and moved seamlessly from one to the next. It changed from industrial sounds to wild African beats, and from simple piano lines to saxophone solos. All of the sounds were instrumental and they formed a near perfect backdrop to the performance. The movement of the dancers was highly controlled. They often performed while standing still, moving only their arms or their hands. At times they moved in isolation, or all three ignoring the movement of the others. The stark lighting was used to great affect, often with one dancer illuminated with the others in near darkness. Towards the end of the performance the scale of the piece widened and the dancers started to move in unison, but only for brief segments. It was a highly promising show and will no doubt draw more attention to Kickham’s work. From the title of the production, it may be a work in progress or something that will be developed further with time. It’s certainly something that should have a longer run than this brief stint!

Performers – Nerea Gurrutxaga, Ailish Maher, Allessandra Ruggeri and DJ R. Kitt