Dance that deals with modern life

Apr 11 2008 by Val Javin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

DANCE can be one of our most powerful art forms.

And a piece which will be staged at the Lawrence Batley Theatre at 8pm on Friday next week should leave audiences in no doubt as to its relevance and its ability to explore issues which are important to all of us.

What could be more timely, given both the protests surrounding events in Tibet and the situation in Zimbabwe, than a production about the nature of power and protest?

Earthfall is a Cardiff-based dance and physical theatre company founded in 1989 by Jessica Cohen and Jim Ennis, with a policy of forging radical choreography with live music and strong visual imagery.

The resulting productions have won the company awards and a strong following for modern dance which has a powerful voice, thanks to its use of film, live music and dance dosed with an ironic humour.

The company’s latest piece, Gravitas displays all the usual Earthfall ingredients and takes a close-up look at issues which have made uncomfortable viewing for many on TV screens and in newspapers over recent weeks.