DV8 Physical Theatre is about taking risks, æsthetically and physically “about breaking down the barriers between dance, theater and personal politics... being radical yet accessible.”
Since its explosive emergence on the dance scene in 1986, the London-based troupe DV8 Physical Theatre has stayed true to its convictions and “de-vi-at-ing” æsthetic, reflected in unorthodox movement-oriented style. DV8, which derives its name from “Dance and Video 8” continues to explore the limits of media crossover.
The company’s director, Australian-born renaissance man Lloyd Newson, is dedicated to challenging the traditonal æsthetics of most modern and classical dance; especially the abstract kind. Commenting on his company, Newson says “We’re trained as dancers... we call ourselves a physical theater company, I didn’t even want to be called a dance company.”
What differentiates DV8 from most contemporary dance is its content. “For a lot of people who go and see dance it isn’t about anything and DV8 is about something,” says Newson. “The Cost of Living,” a creation for 17 dancer-actors, which premiered during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games takes on the stresses of measuring up in a market based society. The show invites us to take a humorously grim look at the world of “unmarketable” social rejects, a gang of alienated urban misfits, including an obese man, a junkie, a midget and two wannabe ballet dancers whose bodies just don’t fit the “career norms.”
“Stuck between what we are and what we think we should be, we take refuge in conformity,” Nelson said in a recent press statement. “We hide behind masks, smiling and pretending. That way we’ll be invited to the ball. But what happens to those who just can’t pretend?”
“The Cost of Living” (chor. Lloyd Nelson), DV8 Physical Theatre, Oct 24-30 at 8:30pm, Théâtre de la Ville, 2 pl du Châtelet, 4e, Mº Châtelet/RER Châtelet-Les Halles, tel : 01 42 74 22 77
