{"id":8585,"date":"2019-03-19T19:35:12","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T09:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=8585"},"modified":"2019-03-18T19:36:04","modified_gmt":"2019-03-18T09:36:04","slug":"dance-nation-red-stitch-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/dance-nation-red-stitch-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Dance Nation (Red Stitch) &#8211; theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What price success? That&#8217;s the key question asked in Clare Barron\u2019s Australian premiere satirical comedy Dance Nation.<\/p>\n<p>Set in the US, the seven kids \u2013 six girls and one guy \u2013 are looking to replicate their local dance club\u2019s previous successes. They want to make it all the way to the national dance championships. But first they have to navigate a series of regional finals, where victory is far from assured. They are driven by their unrelenting dance teacher Pat (Brett Cousins), who devises a routine based around\u00a0 Indian independence activist Mahatma Gandhi.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8656\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8656\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8656\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Dance-Nation-01.jpg?resize=560%2C374\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Dance-Nation-01.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Dance-Nation-01.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Dance-Nation-01.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8656\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Teresa Noble<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One kid, Amina (Tariro Mavondo), clearly stands out. She&#8217;s typically the lead in new works, something that the other youngsters covet. On this occasion, though, she&#8217;s overlooked (although that isn\u2019t the end of the matter), with two other girls anointed. One of them, Zuzu (Zoe Boesen), regards Amina as her best friend but is driven to succeed by her mother (Shayne Francis), who also used to be a dancer. Only Zuzu has a habit of messing up; and once she&#8217;s tapped, the pressure is on her big time. She doesn\u2019t cope with that well.<\/p>\n<p>All the young dancers are looking to make their way in the world. That involves dealing with all the issues teenagers face, including friendship, sexuality and feelings of inadequacy. Some handle the weight of expectation better than others. But inevitably they open up and expose their secrets and fears. While the others may dance in Amina\u2019s shadow, that doesn\u2019t mean she is home scot free either. Success can, of course, breed jealousy; but also complacency and arrogance.<\/p>\n<p>The ideas explored and the situations presented in Dance Nation are largely compelling, even if at times they make for uncomfortable viewing. Strong language is commonplace. On occasions, the play shocks. In many instances, writer Barron and director Davey use humour (verbal and physical), but that&#8217;s mixed in with pathos and the production undoubtedly benefits as a result.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8657\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8657\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8657\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Dance-Nation-02.jpg?resize=560%2C374\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Dance-Nation-02.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Dance-Nation-02.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Dance-Nation-02.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8657\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Teresa Noble<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The play features a series of powerful performances, with each of the actors given time to shine. Holly Durant provides standout choreography. The simple gold and silver set (Adrienne Chisolm is set and costume designer) channels the required mood effortlessly.<\/p>\n<p>Dance Nation is expressive, evocative and entertaining. It&#8217;s playing at <a href=\"https:\/\/redstitch.net\/gallery\/dance-nation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Red Stitch Theatre<\/a>, Melbourne until 14 April 2019.<\/p>\n<h4>Alex First<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What price success? That&#8217;s the key question asked in Clare Barron\u2019s Australian premiere satirical comedy Dance Nation. Set in the US, the seven kids \u2013 six girls and one guy \u2013 are looking to replicate their local dance club\u2019s previous successes. They want to make it all the way to the national dance championships. But&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[801],"tags":[21,37,294,1593,38,590],"class_list":["post-8585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-comedy","tag-melbourne","tag-red-stitch","tag-satire","tag-theatre","tag-theatre-review"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dance Nation (Red Stitch) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/dance-nation-red-stitch-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dance Nation (Red Stitch) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What price success? That&#8217;s the key question asked in Clare Barron\u2019s Australian premiere satirical comedy Dance Nation. Set in the US, the seven kids \u2013 six girls and one guy \u2013 are looking to replicate their local dance club\u2019s previous successes. They want to make it all the way to the national dance championships. 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