Musical enthusiasts were treated to an afternoon of improvisational delight at Te Whare o Rukutia on Saturday as Alan Starrett’s Strork ensemble returned to Dunedin Fringe Festival.
Joined by dancers led by Ali East and visuals by Eliza McMillan, this performance was an acquired taste as the clashing of about 20 musicians playing dissonant melodies could easily become overwhelming.
The assault of sounds was made hauntingly beautiful by the ensemble due to the interactions between themselves and the dancers.
The piece followed an almost traditional three movement or sonata form, each section clearly articulated with changes in dance and musical dynamics.
When the dancers joined the musicians from where they were sitting in the audience, the fluidity and non-vocal communication between the two groups showcased an unspoken understanding of artistic talent and emotion.
The dancers would respond to the music with their body language, and the musicians, inspired by the movement of the dancers, adjusted their music to suit. I was particularly impressed to see musicians get up and join the dancers in movement as they played.
Another impressive interaction was between an older member of the ensemble and a young man who simultaneously played a horn and a double bass between them.
The young man blew the horn as the woman played the notes, and the woman played the notes of the double bass as the young man plucked the strings.
The only disappointing part of the performance was that the visual component seemed to be an afterthought — it did not interact with the other performers in the way they seemed to effortlessly combine into a cohesive piece.
Strork and Dance was a chaotic yet harmonious collaboration between sound and physical presence.
I would thoroughly recommend this performance to anyone interested in how musicians "feel" music and how those emotions are translated into dance.
