Hand-To-Hand a meeting of minds
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5:00AM
Thursday April 10, 2008
I'm in a room with three men with a combined age of around 140 years. They have the fit, lithe bodies of men half their age, and energy to burn. Taane Mete and Taiaroa Royal, two of our finest and most experienced dancers, are pouring sweat in the rehearsal room as they work through the process of learning a new work choreographed by another giant of our dance world, Michael Parmenter.
"Ouch! Too high on my back," winces Royal as Mete loops over his spine. "Stop there - it's strange," calls Parmenter, as they pull another movement apart. Problems have to be solved, a high level of grace achieved.
That was last week, the culmination of a learning period during which, as Royal explained, "We've had a few meltdowns".
This week, the 20-minute piece, called Hand-To-Hand, is complete and in final rehearsals before Mete and Royal fly to Cincinnati on Sunday to take part in the Lance Armstrong Foundation Gala Living Dance Project, to raise funds for cancer awareness. They will be accompanied by rehearsal director Daniel Cooper, also formerly from Black Grace, while the music is written by Eden Mulholland, who trained as a dancer and now composes music for dance.
