London – This performance brings to mind the fusion of classic pop and contemporary dance, almost as if Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation was reimagined through a modern, hypnotic lens. Eight dancers, clad in black urban attire, move in unison like a synchronized force of automatons, using popping and locking to accentuate their robotic, mesmerizing style. Their fluid yet precise movements pulse to the beat of an uneven metronome, creating a captivatingly irregular rhythm.
Chunky Move’s artistic director, Antony Hamilton, has ingeniously crafted an algorithmic sequence that controls the choreography’s counts for 4/4. It’s a structured yet intricate pattern, dictating exactly how often each movement repeats. It’s as if each dancer’s mind is racing, yet the result is an impeccably controlled display, unlike the chaotic frenzy often associated with demanding compositions like Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Instead, this performance feels orderly and almost mathematical, with dancers pairing up to perform each step with flawless synchronization—a test of memory and precision that is simply hypnotic to watch.
As the music grows more offbeat, layered with conflicting tempos and sparse, percussive beats that shift from intense to delicate, the effect feels like a relaxed, Australian take on the minimalist dances choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Movable platforms are rotated and repositioned, creating fresh levels and layouts on stage. The platforms form a circle, while a glowing orb in the backdrop evokes the endless cycles of day and night, years passing like clockwork.
The dancers draw on techniques from house, krump, and locking, building momentum that holds the audience in thrall. However, as the performance nears its conclusion, the energy noticeably tapers off, giving way to a feeling of drift and unpredictability. This deceleration hints at the inevitable limits of algorithm-driven choreography, as the initial purpose and inventiveness begin to wane. In the end, while impressively structured, the performance raises questions about the role of pure calculation in art and whether we should trust creativity to algorithms alone.