Inspired by a childhood fascination with physics, artistic director Garry Stewart has combined world-class 3D graphics with performers from the Australian Dance Theatre to create a unique experience.
Multiverse explores concepts such as string theory, multiple dimensions, black holes and parallel dimensions, and is viewed through specially designed 3D glasses.
During this hour-long performance, three dancers take to the stage for a series of solo and group routines, while a rapidly changing background of colours and shapes is projected onto the screen behind them, creating multiple worlds for the dancers (and the audience) to explore.
Each new world has its own choreography and soundtrack, with the routines consisting mainly of robotic movements combined with episodes of spasmodic writhing and twitching.
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In a standout solo performance, Samantha Hines takes the audience on a whirlwind journey through black holes and into universes made of vivid red blocks, sweeping green plains and even the vast blackness of space itself. Fellow dancers Matte Roffe and Kimball Wong push the boundaries of comfort as they contort their bodies on the floor of the Space Theatre.
Brendan Woithe’s score for Multiverse is comprised of a series of eclectic, at times eerie sounds which, when combined, create futuristic melodies reminiscent of sci-fi movie soundtracks.
The special effects (provided by Melbourne’s Motion.Lab) are breathtaking. Fluid landscapes and bright, random shapes appear to jump from the screen, and there are several moments when it looks like the dancers might be struck down by the random objects floating above them. Sometimes the images on screen appear to respond to the dancers, changing shape and location as they wave their arms or travel across the stage; in other moments, the dancers seem to be affected by the images, slumping to the floor as though weighed down by the sheer gravity and mass of the objects floating above them.
With its stunning 3D graphics, talented dancers and a thought-provoking concept, Multiverse challenges ideas about dance and is certainly an interesting night out.
Multiverse is at the Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, until July 12.