Absolute Dance

LIPA 2nd Year Dance Students
Unity Theatre
15th February 2006

Reviewed by Helen Grey

Absolute Dance was a programme of ten dances performed and choreographed by 2nd year dance students from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Each dance differed in theme and direction, ranging from the exploration of isolation to the antics of several characters in a wig shop.

Highlights of the show included ‘Rain is Jesus’ Wee Wee’ - which was based on ‘Great Lies to Tell Small Kids’ and explored the consequences of spontaneous and mischievous lies. The dancers - dressed in pink with hair in bunches - bounced around the stage teasing and playing with one another. It succeeded in its aim to examine our increasingly gullible society and the entire piece was performed with the energy of a small child who has eaten too many sweets.

‘Monkeys’ depicted a group of young people dancing, drinking and smoking on a night out. Red and black could be seen in the costumes and the lighting combined with music courtesy of Gorillaz. Billed as “a snapshot of the UK’s Capital of Culture at its best”, this dance gave a vivid image of youth culture.

The quality of the dancing was high, but unfortunately at times it seemed the meanings presented in the programme were arbitrary to the performance. While the pieces were visually entertaining the ideas behind them were not always fully conveyed.