Words: Alex Grunberg 

5 Stars

“Fault Lines” is a post-apocalyptic dance epic exploring the devastating effects of climate change that does not shy away from either despair or hope. The Lîla Dance ensemble brings their near-future warning to life through intricate choreography, bounding athletics, a profoundly artistic use of space and design, and powerful emotion. 

The dancers move through the air like it is a viscous substance, imbuing it with at turns the weight of overwhelming humidity or the buoyancy of the ocean. Specific movements, such as head flicks or the shuffling of feet, impressed in the way they threaded the group dynamic as much as the more outright acrobatic work that saw some the dancers suspended over each other’s bodies. The precise isolation techniques paired with an almost unnatural fluidity reminded me sometimes more of popping than contemporary dance, giving the subject matter an embodied science fiction futurism. 

I especially enjoyed the integration of projections and their use in the narrative. A standout example was a claustrophobic exploration of diminishing space that highlighted the creeping horror of overpopulation by using light as a constraining force. This inventiveness in design was mirrored in the inventiveness of the choreography. There were many memorable dance moments, including an imagining of new life on earth that saw a featured dancer become something between an anemone and squid before incorporating the whole ensemble as a kind of futurist coral reef. 

A visually stunning, thoughtful, and exquisitely danced piece. 

FAULT LINES
ASSEMBLY @ DANCE BASE – DANCE BASE 3
15:50
Aug 23-25