When it comes to dance, the island sees various ballet performances ranging from the annual school shows to foreign professional companies performing either repertoire or full length ballets. Nowadays, we even live stream major international ballet companies in real time.

However, contemporary evenings such as Link are few and far between. Perhaps, it is because contemporary dance is still a very misunderstood dance style, since it amalgamates many facets of dance. And, perhaps, many people still cannot relate to the message or movement style of contemporary dance.

Link was a collaboration between Diciembre Dance Company and Moveo Dance Company, presenting a variety of contemporary works on two nights at the Malta Drama Centre. Those present on both nights could enjoy and appreciate the versatility of contemporary dance in Malta and witness the diverse strengths of the choreographers and dancers alike who provided a range of moods and flavours in their performances.

The first work of the night was a bharata natyam extract performed by Moritz Zavan Stoeckle. Bharata natyam is a form of traditional Indian Dance that is rarely performed in Malta. One needs to remark that, on the world platform of dance, bharata natyam has inspired other dance forms and practices such as flamenco.

Bharata natyam dances have very particular narratives, some are somewhat spiritual and are not only performed rhythmically, through elaborate gestures and footwork, but also through distinct facial expressions that express clear emotions. Stoeckle gave a very strong performance, starting very calmly by addressing the audiences and the deities and then progressing to more grounded and intricate rhythms of gestures and footwork.

Moveo Dance Company presented three works – a new solo creation and two restaged works (a duet and a trio). The solo piece, U-Turn, performed on both nights – once by Diane Portelli and once by Dorian Mallia – particularly caught my attention as it tested new boundaries of Moveo’s work compared to their previous works.

Moveo’s work is usually visually appealing and very dance-based, using contemporary ballet as its source. However, this solo was an experimental work which was challenging, but simultaneously refreshing to watch. Performed by two different casts on the different nights allowed the choreography to portray different dymanics given the different personalities and energies of both dancers.

Nights like these should be given more space to evolve as they give a breath of fresh air to the local contemporary scene

The piece is based on the true story of environmental activist Julia Hill, who went on a journey to rediscover herself. The choreography was very fragmented, changing sharply from one short section to the next, with black outs in between. Fragments had no apparent link to each other and evoked a sense of turmoil in the dancer’s mind or life. The body was contorted into grotesque poses and movements which added to the intensity of the choreography making the piece somewhat overwhelming to watch.

Diciembre Dance Company, an independent company set in Bari and staging performances internationally, also showcased several works, many of which were new choreographies. The different choregraphies performed on both nights showed the diverse identity of the company. Works presented were performed by company members, students from the Dance Studies Department and the apprentice company dancers from ŻfinMalta Dance Ensemble.

Petrichor

Alba, performed by Dance Studies students, revolves around the story of an oppressive mother who just lost her second husband and demands that her daughters mourn the loss, forbidding all relationships and emotions. This leads to the youngest daughter to defy her mother’s rules to wear black, and also to have an affair with her older sister’s fiancée of. Based on the play titled The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca the choreography uses an all female ensemble that capture the essence of female oppression, jealousy but also everyday family interaction which is sometimes playful and sometimes foreboding.

This piece has dark undertones that were quite wittily translated in the choreography. It was a pity, in fact, that the space in which it was performed was not adequate to stage a profound choreography such as this. The fact that there wasn’t enough room for the dancers to move in, and the fact that the audience was sitting too close to the dancers, subdued the intensity of this performance.

If anything, such choreographies highlight the fact that there is yet a lot more work to be done in identifying performance spaces that are adequately structured and equipped to do justice to the works being presented.

The most remarkable piece out of the two nights was Petrichor, choreographed by Lucia Piquero. Petrichor is one of those works that is very hard to come by on any dance platform. It is a refreshing, yet powerful, piece that had all the right elements, in all the right doses, combined together to create a stunning work of art – an ensemble of strong dancers, a well-orchestrated choreography and empowering music.

Piquero brought out the different strengths of each of the five dancers, whether it was fluidity, power or sharpness of movement and yet, still managed to melt their different chemistries into one in the unison sections. Piquero is definitely one of those choreographers that is worthy to keep a look out for as her works evolve from strength to strength.

On the whole, Link not only demonstrated great potential for intimate evenings of contemporary dance, but also proved that there are not nearly enough platforms for experimental and emerging choreographic works on the island. Nights like these should be given more space to evolve as they give a breath of fresh air to the local contemporary scene.