Review of second year performance projects.

Performance Projects was a second year project at Coventry University showing progression through their work with an outside choreographer. These were shown through three different groups, the first working with Kirstie Richardson.

Kirstie Richardson performed her own solo as a part of the performance in a studio space. Her work appeared to be based around her own views and journey through her marriage. She started the piece by rolling her wedding ring across the space, this drew in the attention of the audience as it was done in silence so you could clearly hear the ring as it moved. She then moved to the middle of the space and spoke the simple line 'I am married', this set up the basis for the whole idea of her dance. Through out the piece she commented on her being married, how is wasn't part of the plan, this was throughly confusing and complicated to understand. This piece caused mixed feelings in all the people I talked about it with, but when it all came together with the movement the piece was moving and powerful.

The second piece was performed by Chameleon Dance Collective, a company put together by Kirstie Richardson, made up of 2nd year students. They dressed in plain white tops and purple leggings the dancers are in different parts of the Ellen Terry building, the audience are lead around the building to all the different places. The first place the dancers were improvising was on the stairs down the back of the building, as you walked down them you could see different dancers at the different angles. This created a new and unique effect of viewing works that I had not seen before where the audience were really involved as we travelled around the spaces that they were performing in. In one of the spaces the dancers were in two small rooms with pianos in, as they danced they moved around and occasionally hit keys of the piano making loud noises as the rest of the piece was in silence. At the end everyone stood around the top of some stairs as the dancers moved down them and out of sight. This idea of taking the audience to the dancers was really unique however it was key for the audience to be in small groups to get the best of the performance otherwise they were unable to get a clear view of what was going on and so the affect is lost somewhat.