h2dance, To Die for , Laban

To Die For begins simply – and originally – with a game of ‘Simon says’ between Hanna Gillgren, the choreographer, and her four dancers – Darren Anderson, Laura Doehler, Gareth Green & Nicholas Lawson.

As Gillgren instructs the dancers to disco-dance, skip, shake, point and laugh, or to be a monkey, whilst punishing those who obey an order not preceded by ‘Simon says’, a hierarchical dictatorship subtly emerges.

 

Before long the game develops into an interchange of contact improvisation with each action and response being dictated by Gilgren. The dancers are told to ‘follow Gareth’, but they stand bewildered as he misguidedly shows a spark of originality and performs an unprompted cartwheel, for which he is penalised with ten push-ups.  

 

Gilgren exits the stage but the dancers continue as before as if still guided by her omnipresent state. The frenzied sequence of jumping, falling, lunging, and hugging is interspersed with random humorous gestures from ‘Simon says’, so that a roll to the ground is followed by a cheesy disco routine.

 

Gilgren encourages her entourage to use more force in their actions so that one dancer might push another to the floor, or a handshake may be turned into an arm-lock. More and more frequently, the dancers point their fingers like a gun towards each other. Every movement is executed emotionlessly as if this were more a training regime than a stage performance.   

 

Each dancer receives from Gilgren an identical white t-shirt with ‘h2dance’ sprawled across the back, further diminishing a semblance of individuality. A soundtrack blaring out the words ‘love is all you need’ envelops the space. Each member sings out the mocking lyrics whilst stroking or kissing or bowing down before Gilgren, who is presently lifted up and paraded around the stage in idolization. 

 

Once more, the action is initiated by Gilgren calling out ‘Simon says’, so that before long the four dancers are performing grand jétès in full nakedness upstage, downstage, right and left. Darren, however, ignorantly disregards Gilgren’s demands to strip-off, subjecting himself to the mercy of his compatriots as they swarm in up him, kicking and punching his shrivelled body in response to Gilgren’s cries of ‘kill the pig!’

 

As the classical concerto becomes ever more sombre and intense, the onstage scene also escalates in hostility. The dancers persist with their monotonous yet brutal interchange, repeatedly falling to the floor and emitting shouts of pain, until their four battered bodies lie listlessly before us. Slowly Gilgren’s voice creeps serpent-like around them, scornfully reminding them that ‘love is all you need’.