Depth Of Field

Contemporary dance can sometimes be its own worst enemy; especially within the confines of a culture that craves the easily digestible.

The art form’s penchant for the abstruse and its current taste for glitchy soundscapes and ‘rolling around on the floor’ can leave both fans and newcomers feeling frustrated, even insulted.

This is why it takes a deft touch to play successfully with both the limits and the norms of dance. The line between engaging and embarrassing is quite fine, but luckily for us Dutch-born choreographer Anouk van Dijk is a master of her craft. Her works inhabit both intellectual and emotional terrain and she is never afraid to challenge her dancers and her audiences.

Setting Depth Of Field outside amongst the trams and traffic, with dust, sun glare and random passersby to contend with, was always going to push the punters a little. Indeed, the notable lack of perimeter fencing or a sense of enclosure created a kind of exposure, as though the audience too were being watched.

Meanwhile, in the dust and the twilight, three dancers connect and disconnect, their bodies unusually tiny in a vast of bowl of urban space. In the cans, Ben Frost’s signature flutterings transform the utilitarian city into a mesmerising landscape. And all the while, Chunky Move continues to wrestle with that strange beast: contemporary dance.

Malthouse Theatre Forecourt to 14 Mar