Image: Jack Thomson
Words by Eoin Fenton
Abbess and medieval Christian mystic Hildegard von Bingen would not be the first figure you would correlate to Ekleido, the rising dance duo who mix waacking and vogueing with contemporary dance, yet the programme notes open with a quote from the saint: “there is a power that has been since all eternity”.
In their newest work Femina, Ekleido (Hannah Eckholm and Faye Stoeser) bring to the fore all that is feminine and womanly. From the affectations of their chosen techniques to notions of the feminine divine, witchy mysticism, and modern signifiers of womanhood. There’s an original score crafted by Floating Points, Ella Minus, and Stella Mozgawa and an impressive lighting rig from Joshie Harriette. Femina comes as a major mission statement for the choreographic pair not just for being a love letter to femininity, but for being a firm declaration that Ekleido means business, that they are a force to be reckoned with.
The cast of six (including Eckholm and Stoeser) in their monastic robes begin with backs turned to us, bodies swaying through the groove, hands and arms cracking like whips. Their movements become fuller, more daring. There is an aloofness to them at first, but sometimes the haughtiness is used to comedic effect in their caricatures of twinks and fashion girlies standing off in the smoking area of the club, clutching to their purses like their lives depend on it. But the femme flourish is not always a bit, many times it is imbued with an earnest confidence and swagger. In the world of “Femina” the limp wrist is not something to hide, it is an exclamation mark.
The femininity goes beyond the gestural. Eckholm and Stoeser make full use of the everyday objects we associate with womanhood. A giant skirt becomes an entryway to a Lynchian nightclub. We see dancers accomplish acrobatic feats in sparkling stilettos and mini-handbags get swung about like nunchucks. As the momentum builds in the work, so does the danger. It’s pretty addictive to watch. Throughout the dancers push themselves beyond the edge of safety. The hair whips would make a headbanger wince, the spinning bodies hurtle through the space like beyblades. No collisions, no hesitation. It’s done with a staggering level of aplomb. Sometimes with a little hair flick at the end.
This unashamed embrace of the feminine is fitting in a piece that makes such inventive use of vogueing and waacking: techniques created by Black gay men emulating the emergent “lady bosses” of business and fashion in the seventies and eighties. The cast are perfectly at home in both styles, with dexterous “new-way” arm and hand formations being particularly prominent. But they are equally as strong in footwork, grooves, and some pretty impressive hairography. Tia Hockey stands out for her canny blend of contortion and breaking.
Femina, like any good night out with the girls, brings us to a giddy high with its pulse-raising atmosphere. Ekleido, with this absolute banger of a work, leave you wanting to experience it all over again. Or at least strongly considering going to the club when leaving the theatre.