Overview
First created over three decades ago by one of New Zealand's trailblazers in contemporary dance, Insolent River: A Tango has had a beautiful revival. Auckland audiences have never before seen Michael Parmenter's celebrated piece of choreography, but this is set to change when it opens this year's Tempo Dance Festival.
While the confronting piece is over 30-years-old it doesn't appear to have dated. Perhaps this is due to the fact it deals with themes that remain intrinsic to the human experience. Continuously flicking between the mundane realities of our everyday existence and the greater realm of the universe, the work is a tango not only between its dancers but also its concepts.
Parmenter's creation overlaps the spheres of theatre and dance. Riverbanks of soil and buckets of water are woven into the performance's design, and they bring a conceptual river to life onstage as dancers get physical with the elements – and each other.
The 2016 reimagining of Insolent River: A Tango is performed by an alternating cast of talented duos, and is on for three performances only starting on Tuesday, October 4 at Q Theatre.
Note: this show contains nudity, strobe and haze.