dbddbb

Paradoxical combinations

Five dancers walk in synch to the rhythm of a march. The movement is simple: one step is followed by another. At the same time they chant phonetic Dadaist poetry. Despite the compelling rhythm, shared by the group, each dancer develops his own way of dancing. The strict structure of the march slowly begins to fluctuate and resonate, until it is unrecognisable. The stepping and singing, in which paradoxical combinations such as disciplined absurdity, rigid anarchy and wordless speech unite, become an absurd and new whole.

   In this performance, Linehan examines how the individual can exist in harmony within a group. He uses movement and language as forms of expression that have a significant influence on each other. Linehan’s work always revolves around the juxtaposition of dance and non-dance; he looks for unusual combinations, opposites and parallels between texts, movements, images and rhythms. In these combinations he is searching for their effect on the individual and the group. The absurd chaos in dbddbb, which in the end leads to harmony, proves that we should perhaps dismantle and recreate the ‘old language’ in order to make progress.

• We have previously shown works by Daniel Linehan (ex-PARTS) such as the ‘choreographic comedy’ The Karaoke Dialogues (2014), Gaze is a Gap is a Ghost (2012) and the danced ‘rock concert’ Zombie Aporia (2011).