Jasmin Vardamon at The Playhouse

Last night I joined a large number of Oxford’s dance enthusiasts to see Jasmin Vardamon’s latest show  ‘Freedom’.  It is always good to see a big turn out for dance productions.  I enjoyed the visual quality of the work: the set, the lighting, the ‘tricks’ ;  snippets of humour and the really impressive physicality of the dancers.  The opening was beautiful and magical.  In typical Vardimon style the peace and tranquility was then shattered by the following scene’s noise and light, setting up the juxtaposition of contrasting elements she likes to work with.  A pattern emerged of an idea extended beyond its happy/free or comfortable limits -both in mood and length. By the end the message seemed quite a bleak one with much more evidence of violence, discord, cruelty, disappointment and discontent than the title ‘freedom’ would suggest.

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