Beautiful Tomorrow, the new piece by the all male dance company Mandance, which will be at the Project until Saturday, is Paul Johnson's fifth work for the company and his best choreography to date.
The piece begins slowly, almost dreamily, as Johnson, Paris Payne and Danny Thompson seem to drift into the first of their series of different relationships, duplicated by the reflection on the back [wall of the set. Then, as Eudgene Murphy's fine score changes from a minimalist approach to a driving beat, augmented by the voices of Roisin Dempsey and Patrick Delaney, while Paul Keogan's striking lighting grows in intensity until the dancers are mercilessly held in strong cross beams, tentative gestures become by turn competitive, provocative and even at times sadistic.
Athletic and inventive lifts change appropriately between tender and violent as new friends are made, old ones rejected, rivalries developed and dependents supported. All male relationships, whether that of brothers, friends, lovers or enemies are incorporated, while all mankind makes a brief appearance from Ape Man to the New Man as the dancers' bodies swing back and forth between tension and release.
Running for 4 minutes without interval and developed through improvisational techniques, this integrated series of solos, duets and trios is well worth seeing.
