{"id":2073,"date":"2020-02-12T14:36:39","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T14:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/?p=2073"},"modified":"2020-02-12T14:36:47","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T14:36:47","slug":"review-heist-at-nst-city-or-our-first-dance-show-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/2020\/02\/12\/review-heist-at-nst-city-or-our-first-dance-show-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Heist at NST City (or Our First Dance Show Experience!)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Thea Hartman and Kate Briggs-Price<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To our shame and huge excitement and curiosity, the opening night of ZoieLogic Dance Theatre\u2019s <\/strong>Heist <\/strong><\/em>was the first time either of us had seen a dance-only production. And on top of that, whilst between us we have a few years\u2019 worth of mostly amateur dance experience, we know nothing about contemporary dancing, which was the show\u2019s predominant style. In a nutshell, we went to the opening night of this show with absolutely no expectations and completely ready to see contemporary dance with fresh eyes.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is\nexactly what happened. As ZoieLogic Dance Theatre Artistic Director Zoie\nGolding expertly put it (she created the show after all), Heist <\/em>mixes \u201cthe adventure of Mission\nImpossible<\/em>, the gaming of Crystal\nMaze<\/em>, and a little bit of the heart of The\nGoonies\u201d <\/em>\u2013 an emotionally dynamic, cleverly woven, action-packed show\nbursting with the most graceful moves which kept us on the edge of our seats\nthroughout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most\nstriking aspects of Heist<\/em> was in the\nway it established the tone so promptly and accurately from the very first minute\nwith the help of soundtrack and a villain with robotic moves, deeply unsettling\nfacial expressions and Matrix-like costume. We like to think that we don\u2019t get\nscared easily, but we definitely found ourselves huddling close into each other\nas the villain slowly approached our end of the stage. This almost instant\ncharacterization was also instilled into the four \u2018good\u2019 guys \u2013 despite there\nbeing absolutely no words spoken for the entire duration of the show, we\nquickly got a real sense of the dynamic between the characters in the first\nact, as their movements started to organize themselves into patterns and motifs\nto show their quirks and mannerisms, their teamwork and their willingness to do\nwhatever it takes to escape the prison. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, the\nstoryline was quite minimalistic. Whilst the general plotlines were conveyed by\nthe characters\u2019 interaction with the set, the soundtrack and the dancers\u2019\nmovements and facial expressions, the lack of words brought with itself a lack\nof specificity which Heist <\/em>turned on\nits head into a vagueness encouraging audience engagement. We did not know\nexactly why the four men were imprisoned, or what they tried to set free at the\nend of it, but when we talked about it after coming out of the show we both\nthought it had something to do with identity. Whether or not that\u2019s what it\nactually was about is a different question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The great thing\nabout the show is that none of this guesswork actually matters: you don\u2019t get\nbrownie points for identifying one specific metaphor the author wanted to\nconvey. The focus was simply on how the incredibly skilful and graceful\nmovements affected the audience\u2019s emotions (and trust us, they did). The plot\nwas merely shaped by some classic heist film tropes (e.g. the chase scene), and\nthe fantastically adaptable set which enhanced the experience of the show by\nbeing as fluid as the dancers\u2019 movements; the essence was all in the\nrelationship between movements and emotion. As the dancers were climbing the\nprison\u2019s walls showing some real parkour skills, we waited anxiously for them\nto fall. As they supported each other through their feeblest sequences of\nchoreography we felt feeble with them. As they were running from the villain\nthrough the set which became a maze we were rooting for them to get away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For us, that was\nthe essence of Heist. <\/em>It did not\nmatter that we knew close to nothing about contemporary dance. It only mattered\nthat we opened our eyes and hearts to see and feel this show, and we left NST\nCity all the richer for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the trailer for Heist <\/em>below, and catch ZoieLogic Dance Theatre\u2019s next show @zoielogic<\/a> or at www.zoielogic.co.uk<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n