Unikum 09 November Web

CULTURE
DANCE REVIEW:
José Antonio Herrera
Writer
Photo: Kilden teater og konserthus
Imagine being seated in a darkened room. Your
chair is cushioned. Somewhere in the dark you can
hear the soft whine of a low powered motor and
the rumbling of four small tires as they randomly
maneuver around the elevated stage. The tires
belong to a small remote-controlled vehicle which
carries a small light. You watch the light slightly
illuminate the environs as the rolling device
continues its unpredictable itinerary. Sounds begin
to fill the spaces hidden from view. There is a lack of
pleasing melodies and soothing harmonies. Instead,
your brain begins to assemble the pulsing auditory
elements into something cohesive. Distorted bursts
of static, muffled gunfire and other sonic devices
were woven together despite the fragmented
nature of the amplified music: At times they seemed
to come from a far-off point in the distance and
suddenly would reemerge much more closely.
This is how we were introduced to the first part
of “Mellomland” at the Kilden Performing Arts
Centre last month. “Mellomland” is composed of
two dance performances. The first is called BUD,
choreographed by Roza Moshtaghi. Prior to the
show, my girlfriend told me we were going to see
modern dance. I made a supreme effort not to
think of an avant-garde Footloose or Dirty Dancing.
When the lights dimmed to signal the onset of
BUD, I couldn’t help but feel the show had already
begun. As the minutes passed, we felt our eyes
struggle to adjust to the murk and shadow. Our
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