Gravity of Center
by RUBBERBANDance Group

Dates and Venue 19 - 23 February – 2013, 8pm | Historic Theatre at The Cultch, 1895 Venables Street

Choreographer Victor Quijada Lighting Design Yan Lee Chan Sound Design Jasper Gahunia

Reviewer Karen Fitzgibbon


Now this is serious dancing at its best. Tonight’s dance performance of Gravity of Center at the Cultch Theatre is brilliant. The exaggerated movements are complex, moving and well executed.

Gravity of Center stems from social issues between the rich and poor. This high intensity dance raises the bar for physical exertion that combines classical ballet and modern dance. It is an exploration of the limits where boundaries are erased. My perception of Gravity of Center is that the art of dance could move the audience into action. Dancer Emmanuelle Le Phan’s performance did exactly that in profoundly animated and sometimes robotic dance movement that were impressive to say the least.

Choreographer Victor Quijada and the dancers received a well deserved standing ovation. It is a wonder to me how these talented dancers can sustain such intense physical endurance for a period of 75 minutes.

The unusual lighting effects, the compilation of raw sound and music and the strong physical dance threw my senses into moments of aggression and then peace and harmony. How does one translate physical movements into words?

Quijada’s choreography is exceptional, with dancers intertwining, and bizarre, but thought provoking motion. I can’t imagine the hours of hard work and sweat that went in to this fine work but the result is an absolute over the top success that would make New York envious. I don’t know how Quijada could sleep at night trying to figure out what movements, who, when and how. It is mind boggling to me but he did it, and it came out of the oven absolutely fantastic.

If you say dance performances aren’t for you then I’d advise you to see the RUBBERBANDance Group before you shelve them altogether. It will take your breath away.

© 2013 Karen Fitzgibbon