Watermans Arts Centre, Brentford, London
February 25, 2022
A century ago, artists such as Nijinsky, Satie, Rodchenko, Brecht and Picasso and the members of Ballet Suedois, among others, tried to create something that was truly new as a reaction to what they saw as the staid realism of their contemporaries at a time of global upheaval. New paintings, music and movement broke boundaries and shocked many. Some still find them shocking.
We live in similar times with no shortage of major changes in our lives and we are crying out for similar originality to give voice to the fears for the present and future. Sadly, Surge, Tom Dale Company’s new work, the latest that claims to explore the boundaries between the virtual and the real-world experience, is not unique in failing to provide that fresh voice and outlook. Reinventing the wheel is after all a way that one is condemned, by not understanding history, to repeat the mistakes of the past.
It seems to be the mode du jour to panic about the impact of AI. The publicity in the foyer stated that we have seen the end of natural selection which has been superseded by AI, a statement that suggests someone doesn’t understand the science, or at least has neither read Darwin nor Dawkins. Whilst there are real concerns with some jobs being automated, we are a long, long way away from being taken over by super-intelligent machines. One of the things that they would have to do is ensure their own continuing power supply for a start.
Given the subject matter, it might be expected that Surge would be futuristic in concept. It’s not. Dancer Jemima Brown, decked out in a tight white cropped top and leggings is reminiscent of Sandstrom, the ‘enhanced human’ in the 2006 television comedy Hyperdrive (for those that don’t know it, imagine how poor Star Trek would likely have been had it been created in 1960s Britain rather than the US). Robin Shackford’s and Barret Hodgson’s animated lighting is clever and undoubtedly interesting, but does rather resemble a 1990s sci-fi film. Ital Tek’s electronic score including repetitive vocals feels just as dated.
The movement vocabulary is a mix of contemporary with a heavy flavour of tai-chi. The graphics twist and twirl, as does the dancer. The flow and angularity in the movement combines well but despite the evident skill in the choreography and performance, Surge struggled to maintain my interest. I also found it difficult to make much of a connection with its theme.
Even the abstract must function in the service of the art. Why does it so often seem that the concept of the originators is perceivable only by reading the accompanying notes or disappears entirely in a welter of light and over-amplified sound.