HEX is a commentary on the HIV/AIDS crises from the point of view of a young gay man, a generation too young to have experienced it firsthand. Created and choreographed by dancer James Welsby, HEX was commissioned by Next Wave’s Kick Start program for its premiere at Next Wave Festival 2014.
Welsby’s choreography is contemporary, infused with the queer disco aesthetic of the late ‘80s and ‘90s, a time when the AIDS epidemic was stealing lives in the homosexual community. There is an explicit dichotomy between the joyous, enthralling, and highly sexual and the sombre, grief-stricken and bewildered. Welsby along with Chafia Brooks and James Andrews execute this beautiful and engaging work, with precision, emotion and a stunning amount of energy.
The three dancers move in mesmerising unison, before moving into unique individual configurations, indicating the level of crafting and perfecting that has gone into this piece. The sound design by Claudio Tocco was gritty in the right places and worked to create an element of tension and unrelenting pace throughout the whole piece.
The seamless piece is not however traumatic or tragic, but rather exudes a sentiment of sorrowful beauty and tenderness. There is a certain freedom and amount of future-focus that makes this piece somehow optimistic.
The Black Box, Royal Croquet Club (finished)
