National Dance Company Wales (NDCW) presents ‘FOLK,’ a contemporary take on emotions exchanged in a social environment, depicted through dance.
Award-winning choreographer Caroline Film’s latest work – FOLK – is more than just dance; an interplay between emotions that are felt and behavior that is projected.
The show begins with Camille Giraudeau solo dancing, looking right into your eyes throughout her first performance. Her smooth dance moves accompanying her emotionless face and answer-finding gaze echo a sense of discomfort. The confusion between what she is expected to do and what she does is beautifully brought out by her silence, and the soulful background music. The plot is instantly created and made evident through subtle moves.
Shortly after, she is joined by the rest of the dancers who sometimes dance like penguins, slide on the floor like a whale or pose like the Statue of Liberty, trying to explain what the play is not about. The audience, then, gets to witness a love story portrayed through a contemporary dance and a final confrontational freestyle dance.
The dance is, overall, not extraordinary except a few lifts and slides that take your breath away. You can find touches of Caroline Film’s ballet skills in a few parts of the dance too. The scenes are mostly set in dark surroundings, with autumn leaves falling off a tree further emphasizing the loss of love and feeling of betrayal. However, the music plays the most important role in creating a gap between what is visible and what is real. At times, we can hear loud cries, laughter, and remarks stemming from accumulated frustration by the dancers, further adding to the realism and dynamism of the show.
The act is surrounded by the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, from love to understanding to chaos and an ultimate silence. The two-hour play is worth a watch for those who enjoy an interplay of emotions and seeing drama in a dance format.
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