★★★★☆
With the ever-looming threats of the climate crisis and humanity’s constant exploitation of natural resources, a show rooted in environmental change and cultural tradition seems rather befitting. As coral reefs are bleached, pollution clogs the sea, forests are uprooted, and weather conditions grow ever more erratic, can human’s embrace nature before its too late?
TELLUS is an epic dance narrative inspired by Dickson Mbi’s Cameroonian heritage and influenced by stories of the mythical goddess Mami Wata. We follow a desperate young person in their attempts to heal the relationship between man and nature after a deadly drought takes hold of his village. After meeting a mysterious woman, they realises humanity must restore their faith in nature, protecting and worshipping the land rather than exploiting it.
The show is imbued with a stirring sense of unity, eight dancers from across the globe dancing to an equally diverse soundscape of African vocals and Chinese percussion as the movements, compositions, and projections meld together in multiple mesmerising sequences.
It’s a thought-provoking piece teeming with juxtaposing feelings of grief and loss; joy and harmony. Dancer, choreographer and composer Dickson Mbi’s choreography is so emotionally charged with flowing arms, jittery swirling bodies, an intoxicating rhythmicality, dynamic poses, memorable images (i.e. the throne of bodies), and routines filled with such extreme physicality and raw emotion that it’s exhausting just to watch! There were eight dancers in all and yet every section of the stage was bounding with life; every ounce of energy poured into perfectly coordinated sequences.
Mbi’s music was equally lively, the opening and finale marked by gentle humming lullabies before energetic choral chanting harmonies matching the thrilling and intricately synchronised routines. The show’s midpoint is fairly disturbing; scuttling sounds, cavernous breezes, breathless panting, and ominous whispers reverberating through the theatre as dancers skulk through the darkness on all-fours, hauntingly lit behind a tassel-curtain backdrop before popping in and out from all directions.
The staging was brought to life by set designer Ruby Law and lighting director Lee Curran, fronds of tied curtains unknotted to create divisions and lights dotted at every angle to create an array of visual spectacles.
Towards the finale, Yeast Culture’s video artists created an array of fascinating projection effects that enraptured the audience in a world of swirling blue trees, crackling lightning and swaying leaves, layering a veil between the stage and the ever-ardent dancers. Another illusion saw the lead and his silhouette interacting and dancing in canon with projected dissipating shadows. All of which create a visually and audibly striking masterpiece calling on mankind to act in harmony with nature.
Admittedly, a few sections outlasted their welcome with slightly repetitive song loops, long routines, and some fairly ambiguous moments that were rather tricky to interpret without prior knowledge of the show’s themes. Still, it was impossible not to appreciate the majesty and creative cohesion of Mbi’s work.
Photo: Malachy Luckie
TELLUS runs at Lowry (Quays Theatre) until February 10 and completes its tour at Theater Kerkrade, Netherlands, as part of schrit_tmacher Festival.
JADAR 