AddLogos: Are U Australia’s next Choreographic Tool? (FringeTIX)
Adelaide Centre for the Arts, TAFE SA @ Main Theatre – AC ARTS
8:00pm, Tue 27 Mar 2007
It’s a nice touch – walking up to the AC Arts building before the performance, there’s a rabble of protesters outside with “ADDLOGOS SUCKS!” signs, handing out hilariously poorly written flyers decrying AddLogos and supporting the “Extreme Left-Wing Radical Contempory Dancers Organization”. The protesters chanted, picketed, and were yelled at by building security as the audience queued to be let in.
Well, I thought it was a nice touch.
The Main Theatre at AC Arts is a steep affair for the audience, but a massive space for the performers – who use it to mimic a TV studio producing the AddLogos programme. And the programme starts with a choreographed number, the four AddLogos dancers and two (over-exuberant) hosts prancing about in an overlong intro. Then we get to the meat of the performance – three “contestants” each have to perform three “tasks” to win the opportunity to be the next great Choreographic Tool.
During the third task, the Contestant #3 reveals herself to be an infiltrator associated with the protestors that we encountered before the performance began; she lets them into the studio, whereupon a battle ensues for control of the AddLogos network. Dancey dancey dance, game over, applause.
Righto, let’s discuss:
Pretty much anything that involved synchronised dance was sloppy – the cast (the Third Year TAFE Dance Students) didn’t really appear to have the discipline to make the tightly choreographed stuff work well. Don’t get me wrong, the solo performances were great; in particular, Contestant #3 – the infiltrator – shone during her solos. The music was strong throughout, mostly having a fantastic “corporate ominous” feel.
But here’s the thing – a lot of laziness caught my eye. Yes, the synced dancing was pretty obvious, but there were also typos a-plenty in the background video (the typos in the ELWRCDO flyer I can forgive), and surely the AddLogos protesters shouldn’t have been wearing clothing with logos? The devil’s in the details, kids.
Finally, I can’t help thinking this would have been a much better piece in a smaller venue – especially the ending which, whilst one could sense the chaos of the battle, it felt a little contrived in such a wide open space.