Imprints

At first glance, Imprints by Nux is startling in its simplicity. The set just a few pieces to make a home, music pared down to only a couple of instruments, just two dancers on stage. However, the subject matter, Alzheimer's, is complex and its effect on the dancers even more so.

Perfectly in sync, dancers Maïté Delafin and Michael Sherin go through the motions of everyday life, picking out only the littlest of things that make up daily routine to focus on, from placing the post on the hallway table to making a cup of tea.

Free and relaxed, Delafin and Sherin weave around each other as they dance, the delight at being together visible on their faces. They don't hold back on showing expression and it's pleasing to watch.

Happiness doesn't last long though as the comfort of this easy reality begins to crumble. While Nux treats Alzheimer's with sensitivity, it isn't afraid to expose the hurt and confusion caused by this disease.

What had been an effortless tango in the first scene between Delafin and Sherin becomes a disjointed clash, leaving each character frustrated and Delafin loses her fluidity as she becomes trapped in a jerky, angry unrelenting solo.

As they gradually lose one another, the small things that had made their life so normal only serve to highlight what's now missing. A radio that had been so smartly flicked on earlier just buzzes by the end, unattended, as the Alzheimer's can no longer be tuned out.