Some emerging artists use Resolution! as a choreographic sandpit, and this evening was very much an example of that approach.

In the interval, Charlie Dixon explained that Long Road had been an opportunity for her to explore ideas and and ways of making work, without having fixed ideas about exactly what she wanted to achieve.

Long Road opened dramatically, with the faint outline of Robert Keates staggering, repeatedly falling, crawling and gasping in complete darkness, until he found his way to a spotlight and stood there, shaking, before collapsing again.

Long Road investigates the impact of war, and each of Dixon's dancers explored different aspects of this theme, with each dancer embodying a different response. Keates was clearly a soldier in combat, repeatedly on fire, as he dodged his way across the stage. Charlotte Pook's character was the most lyrical of the three, with fluid solos but prone to overbalancing, with occasional scenes of furiously scratching her ankle. An interesting device was Pook adopting Sarah Golding's angular and disjointed style of movement when close to her. These random solos were connected by group sections, bringing the characters and their movement back together.

Long Road is a work of many parts, exploring a wide range of styles and themes of possession. It draws its inspiration from extremely graphic photos from the Vietnam War, which did not lose their impact despite being displayed at reduced size during the performance. It's a strange work but engaging, and perhaps requires more than one viewing to make sense of the characters and scenes. 


The second exploratory work of the evening was Alotta Fagina's We're made of stories. Secrets are safe in stories, created by Hofesh dancers Karima El Amrani and Victoria Hoyland. El Amrani and Hoyland started by turning in a slow, crouched circle, slowly expanding their movement in small ways, building up their movement gradually.

At times We're made of stories seemed self-indulgent, with the dancers taking time to explore movement in its rawest forms; these scenes were less penetrable for the audience, contrasting with the more enjoyable scenes when the piece picked up pace and dynamism, mesmerising the audience.

It closed on a very poignant scene, with Hoyland in a handstand over El Amrani's head; the low lighting and haze made it hard for the audience to tell where individual limbs were, and which belonged to who.


The unexpected success of the evening was Elena Jacinta's Pieces of Mosaic, proving that less is more, and that simple understated works can be far more effective than more elaborate ones.

Jacinta's programme notes explained that Pieces of Mosaic was an exploration of the idea, expectations and experiences of performance; this was conveyed through solos by three women of very different movement qualities and personalities, with few interactions between them.

Pieces of Mosaic opened with a very fluid solo by Tomomi Kosano, showing what a beautiful and graceful dancer she is, which contrasted sharply with Carys Staton's more hesitant and poised solo, drawing out movements as though savouring each one, in an almost contemplative way, and later exploring the stage and her relationship to it. In further contrast, Natalia Iwaniec appeared to be playing a neverending round of charades, drawing on a wide range of random mimes.

Natalia Iwaniec's character demonstrated performance in its basest form, luxuriating being in the spotlight, complete with faux-sensual solos. Tomomi Kosano's performances were beautiful to watch, especially when repeating one of Carys Staton's solos, however Carys Staton - recently seen in Russell Maliphant's The Rodin Project - was by far the most engaging performer, with her perpetually concerned and anxious facial expressions and quirky responses. Well done to Elena Jacinta and her dancers.