DANCES WITH GRAVITY

DANCE

14 Oct

Recently landed: Dances with Gravity

Gracia’s written response to Lucy Guerin and Matthias Schack-Arnott’s Pendulum especially for Fjord Review.

In physics, the motion of a pendulum can be described as: θ(t) = θocos (ωt). In choreography and composition, the motion of a pendulum can also be described as Lucy Guerin and Matthias Schack-Arnott’s Pendulum: a mesmerising dance with gravity. In both, the data of time, length, and gravity come together in simple harmonic solution.

Pendulum has moved location since its brief-spark world premiere in May, and its premiere season in July, 2021. Commissioned by Rising, both runs at NGV International were cut short due to Melbourne lockdowns. More than a year later, Pendulum is currently outside, in and of the elements, in Shed 21, Docklands. For its Melbourne Fringe season, it comes with a recommendation to rug up, and add a layer; it’s cold and windy by the river.

Having missed Pendulum in its intended gallery setting, for me, Pendulum outside in the elements, exposed to the fundamental forces of nature, feels a perfect fit. As the sky grows darker and the clouds on the horizon look as though the forecast thunderstorm will bear down, the stage is set. Beneath the Bolte Bridge, the memory of a working quay. Where once steel was unloaded, now thirty-nine brass pendulums await activation.