18 Feet and 4 Fringes @ C

It seems rather patronising to say that a university’s third year company ‘gave it their all’ but that seems to be as positive an accolade as the performance will allow. JMUpstart Dance Company simply does not deliver the kind of mature programme that one expects from soon-to-be graduates.

The bill offers a mix of live contemporary and dance for the camera. In the opening piece, Reclaim Your Space, the company explores how to transform a site-specific work into a theatre event. They play with dynamic shifts by contrasting stillness with frantic movement but it feels like something is missing. Only when clips from the material created on site are shown does it begin to make sense and it becomes clear that the setting is intrinsic to the success of the work.

The dance films that are dispersed throughout are well-presented. Weather or Not makes good use of location and the action is framed interestingly, although the choreography is blandly pedestrian. Daemon exploits the fashion for close-ups on individual body parts yet the most innovative section is the credits in which the dancers’ names are written on various limbs. Presented are a series of good ideas not fully explored.

It should be noted that the live pieces are performed with energy and commitment. The dancers, however, lack the technique and assured performance quality of those trained at the various vocational schools. With moments of choreographic originality, 18 Feet and 4 Fringes is surely just a stepping stone to further learning.