Edinburgh Fringe 2024
The Hidden Garden
JC movement production / Jill Crovisier / Luxembourg Selection
Genre: Contemporary, Dance
Venue: Summerhall
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Structurally intriguing piece of contemporary dance which has a strict definable choreography. Combined with some nice visual touches in props, costume and set, this really does challenge perceptions and notions of space.
Review
Jill Crovisier performs her short dance piece with attention to the detail of a garden where visitors come and go and there are few interactions but plenty to see here. She has given full physical voice to the mission she has to be inspired by a multidisciplinary approach to the world – as this takes in the cultural (our relaxing sunglassed sun worshipper), social (the dog looking to find compatriots and explore its surroundings) and it manages the political (asking, what are such open yet confined spaces for).
She begins with flowers in a bouquet which ponders the idea of taking from such gardens. There is a beauty contained in the approach with theatre arts playing a huge part as we see here, the light goes, she moves and is a new place for the light to find her for us and so on. It has a ponderous feel though a very contemporaneous motion to it. It contrasts beautifully with the last acts of taking the green grass, getting underneath it and disrupting it to become a form of blanket and pillow for sleep – are we environmentally asleep too?
There is a universal language at play here which connects us in Scotland with a performer who has a nomadic approach to discovery which enhances their creativity. Perhaps a reversal of think local, act global this is think global, react locals.
It also speaks to the architecture of the place as the limits of the space are explored and perhaps they tell us of the limits in place for us all – how we see things within boxes and the restrictions we like to place upon ourselves because they are comfortable and safe whilst the big bad world out there may be calling us to itself, asking us to engage and be more involved. It’s a creative response that challenges us not just in its movement and how we react to Crovisier and her performance but also about how we see this space – hidden but known.
There is clarity in each section which is quirky but also sequential. That quirkiness challenges our perceptions whilst it keeps it within the structure of the familiar. There is something quite beautiful in how Crovisier moves and interplays with her surroundings. This is not a piece for the feint hearted but in terms of contemporary dance, it has significance beyond its own boundaries, signaling Crovisier out as a choreographer and performer of note. Perhaps, as she is from Luxembourg, performing in another small country, that is the resonating quality which attracts.
