Not What I Had In Mind

Robin Dingemans created this dance-collage in collaboration with 28 non-dancers who choreographed his movement in accordance with their emotional responses to a set of questions. The result is at times overly earnest, for example when Dingemans asks us to imagine him as a woman and that his hand is a man’s before slapping himself.

Demonstrations of domestic abuse aside, Dingemans does attempt to address preconceptions about interpretive dance by listing moves that were banned by his collaborators but sadly he regularly breaks his own rules. For instance we are obliged to watch him stare into space in what is, allegedly, a deeply meaningful gesture for a good few minutes.

It becomes apparent that the people Dingemans has worked with have come from a variety of different backgrounds and have endured distressing experiences. From this, he concludes with a self-flagellatory air that men are despicable and it is inexplicable that they have not yet succumbed to self-destruction.

Unfortunately for Dingemans, most of the show resembles fellow New Zealander and Flight of the Conchords character, Bret’s "Angry Dance". But even when Dingemans is shirtless, sweaty and gyrating whilst doing the splits (who knew it was possible to do both?) it is hard not to watch his percussionist Manuel Pinheiro as he coaxes incredibly atmospheric effects from the most basic of instruments. Using just a terracotta pot, a bow and cymbal, drums and guitar, Pinheiro is simply and effectively able to evoke sensations of time, place and emotion. This show is enjoyable but not always for the right reasons.