Australasian Dance Collective’s Forgery review: Short... so short... and sweet

It’s a 45-minute show in which dancers are told what to do by a computer and if that sounds weird it is, writes Phil Brown, but in a good way.

Fwd: Australasian Dance Collective's Forgery Pic Credit: David Kelly

Australasian Dance Collective’s new show Forgery is my new gold standard for performances. Because it is just 45 minutes long.

Congratulations to the company for breaking the one hour barrier. It’s a milestone. Particularly when just about every other show in town is too long by at least 30 minutes. You know who you are.

I don’t mean to diminish the show itself by banging on about the duration but there was a double sense of excitement in the auditorium at the Cremorne Theatre at QPAC last night because everyone knew they would be out in under an hour. Yippee!

And the anticipation also had a lot to do with the buzz about this company which just gets better show by show. ADC was much loved when it was EDC (Expressions Dance Company) and it is still one of our favourites and this is their Brisbane Festival offering.

It is a ground breaking show with choreography by Alisdair Macindoe (a bit of a creative genius) and a computer. Yes folks a computer, programmed by Alisdair, tells the dancers what to do in this show. The computer has a voice for part of the show, and throughout the show the instructions are projected onto the back wall of the stage, and there’s a digital clock, too, counting down the minutes.

Fwd: Australasian Dance Collective's Forgery Pic Credit: David Kelly

Which was handy because usually halfway through a show I start looking at my watch. I didn‘t have to in this show! Thankyou ADC.

It’s wild that you have dancers following the instructions of a computer and the instructions differ from night to night. There is a central part where the choreography seems more formal but the show begins and ends with the dancers wildly trying to conform to random and sometimes amusing instructions.

The company’s artistic director Amy Hollingsworth explained before the performance that each night is a different show.

That may be challenging for the dancers but they are up to the challenge. In fact they are amazing. Mesmerising. Let me tell you who they are - Chase Clegg-Robinson, Tyrel Dulvarie, Lonii Garnons-Williams, Jack Lister, Jag Popham, Josephine Weise. Well done crew.

Computer says yes ... ADC dancers follow their instructions

They are simply terrific and they rise to the challenges thrown down by the computer. The whole thing made me think of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Remember HAL the talking computer? Imagine HAL telling Dave how to dance.

That’s kind of what’s happening in Forgery. I also thought of Twister which we all used to play as kids, bodies getting tangled in weird and wonderful positions. There’s a bit of that in Forgery too.

Alisdair Macindoe’s soundscape is evocative and works well as the dancers follow their computer instructions and turn themselves inside out trying the please the choreographer and the computer.

It’s a great festival show and daring in more ways than one. And just 45 minutes long! Ah, sweet mystery of life now that I’ve found thee!

It always pays to leave the audience wanting more. We did. We do. Can’t wait to see what ADC comes up with next. In the meantime ...computer says ...dance!

FORGERY is on at the Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, until October 2 ; qpac.com.au