construct: A Review

I had a strange experience last night. I felt like I was watching a show for kids, and yet there were no kids in the room. In retrospect, this disjunction might be one of the most fascinating aspects of construct, a dance-theatre show choreographed by Australian Tanja Liedtke, a young artist who passed away two years ago.

When the three dancers first come out, the two women (Kristina Chan and Charmene Yap) act as if they are planks of wood, repeatedly falling victims to gravity as the man (Paul White) attempts to keep them upright. In this initial section, the body is presented as moving because of external forces rather than internal ones. The choreography highlights it as a material to be played with, focusing on its mechanics. These aspects of the dance are reinforced when White pulls out a drill and uses it as a choreographic tool, seemingly making the women’s bodies move based on his placement of the drill. The way their broken down body moves as a result is something we usually see in hip-hop.

The opening is definitely impressive physically. Unfortunately, the performers’ forced playful interaction with the audience only takes away from the experience. It’s always a bit too much, one hair away from winking at us over the sound of a rim shot after every trick they pull. They are always emphasizing that we should be impressed with their physical feat.

After this impressive beginning, the choreography goes in a completely different direction. While it remains physically demanding for the performers, requiring great strength and agility, it is unchallenging for the audience. All that we are left with is a feeling of déjà vu.

The reason why construct made me feel it was a show aimed at kids is because it goes beyond being playful and often becomes downright childish. The performers take pieces of wood and turn them into recognizable objects, like a television, a bed, a shower, or a window. A show for kids because nothing is left unsaid, everything about it being made explicit to make sure everybody gets it.

It may be odd to refer to a work that has a warning in bold in the program – “This show contains nudity” – as being aimed at kids, but even that ends up being infantile; all that we see are breasts. (OMG guyz i saw boobies!!) This overstatement may not be surprising given that the performers sometimes look at us and go “Oops!” as if they’ve been caught with their pants down when in fact they’re wearing underwear.

As the show goes on, it ends up somewhere else entirely, as if it had grown up along the way. It becomes a critique of the white picket fence dream, but one that left me wishing I were watching Dave St-Pierre’s WARNING instead. On a good note, the set that gets built as the show progresses is a standout.

construct is presented every night at 8pm until Saturday, November 14, at the Cinquième Salle of Place des Arts. Tickets are 31$; those under 31 years old get 30% off. For more information, visit laplacedesarts.com or call 514.842.2112.