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Review by Ka Bradley

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Moving into thematic obscurity is Feet Off the Ground Dance’s The Way We Were Then. Inspired by Eduardo Galeano’s Mujeres, [Women], this pieces sees four female dancers locked in a changing, lively, violent, loving dynamic.

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For anyone unfamiliar with the Galeano’s collection – as I am not – The Way We Were Then does not so much tell stories as it suggests an undercurrent of narrative. Sometimes this is frustrating, but individual ‘stories’ within the bigger piece express enough to make up for it. Sophie Thorpe and Patricia Zafra’s gentle duet, face-to-face and walking one another across the stage as a mother would a toddler balanced on her feet, aches with a tender restraint (though their relationship is never made explicit). Lucia Chocarro’s stunning solo, watched with shy and amused interest by the other three performers, is a sensuous riot (though it’s not clear why she is rioting, or why she is being watched). Lithe and bold, Chocarro evokes the adrenalin of rebellion, defiance and joy in the self through her floor-sweeping twitches.

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Drawing heavily on the practice of contact improv and once again supported by a lone musician with a live soundtrack, The Way We Were Then is opaque but absorbing. As the final work of a festival devoted to allowing emerging choreographers to experiment and explore, it felt triumphantly fitting.