Dance / Garden, QL2. At Fitters’ Workshop, Kingston, until May 5. Reviewed by SAMARA PURNELL.

Two dance works make up the program Garden, presented by QL2 – Bloom and the beginning is the end is the beginning.

The past few years in local dance productions have been a discovery of niche venues and site-specific spaces to experience performances and this one takes place at the Fitters’ Workshop in Kingston.

An evening performance, the blue light from the tower outside shone through the window, creating a neon-moon glow, along with the simple yet striking lighting design by Alice Lee Holland and Craig Dear. The matinee performance promised a different experience with the sunlight streaming through the towering windows of the venue.

The large stage area was needed to hold the 26 dancers, who rotated through the space constantly.

QL2 alumnus James Batchelor and QL2 artistic director Alice Lee Holland have worked intricately and intimately with these dancers for a truly collaborative work, where even the younger dancers in their first production felt they had contributed.

Batchelor’s Bloom is rooted in the Ausdruckstanz movement, pioneered by Gertrud Bodenwieser. In contrast to the rigidity of ballet, this style uses emotion and expression and freedom. Former director of QL2 Ruth Osborne was a pupil of this teaching and passed it down to Batchelor who has continued to research and work in this dance style.

The younger dancers were in soft sage green costumes, designed by Andrew Treloar, and the older ones in muted soft grey and blue, including sheer, full-length gloves on some of the dancers. Detailed soft folds and angle-cut hems on loose pants were paired with netted cropped zip-up tops. They were really lovely and had been made in Thailand, collected just in time for the show.

The costumes, lighting, hairstyles and lack of differentiation in movement between the male and female dancers created a visually androgynous, ethereal quality.

To begin, a few of the dancers used slow movements, focused on curved arms and circular movements, to abstract noises in a soundscape by Morgan Hickinbotham.

Slowly this morphed into something more exact, a beat, more dancers. Pairs circled each other  and repetition became meditative and relaxing. The rush to form a central motif, breathe, fall away again, conjured images of flowers blooming and a sense that if seen from above, the patterns would look kaleidoscopic.

A series of lifts were executed with ease, all the while maintaining a circular motion, in movement and of the body. This was eventually built up to skips and spins. There were a few unpointed toes here and there.

The hold and fall-away of the choreography was similar to ballroom dancers gracefully holding, holding, before a slight change in direction and an elegant falling away, avoiding collisions with other dancers.

In Alice Lee Holland’s work, the younger dancers crossed the stage, with frantic, jerky movements. Electric guitar notes blend into a synthesizer and jazz soundscape, created by Streams, with soaring noises like eagles diving.

Slower movements, with the ensemble swaying gently, appeared like Tai Chi motions. Moments of freneticism interspersed flowing, then controlled movements. The dancers appeared introverted, focused inward and toward each other, allowing the audience to observe, rather than be directly performed to.

The continual movement of the ensemble showcased a level of fitness and commitment that never wavered and the energy and focus remained high throughout the entire performance.

The conclusion saw the dancers gather, reaching upwards, blooming, where the beginning is the end.

The overarching theme of Garden is connection and growth – between generations, between dancers, between the elements that surround us and, literally, of a garden: growing, blooming, hibernating, regenerating and adapting. Garden creates a momentary meditation, where visual appeal, location, theme and execution come together nicely. There is even a delicious mocktail created specifically for the show!