Clouds – for the young and young at heart

Clouds is a delightful and enchanting exploration into the world of surrealist painter Rene Margritte, as his paintings come to life through inanimate objects throughout the piece.

Presented by the Perth International Arts Festival this fifty minute journey, choreographed by Enrique Cabrera will engage and delight the young and young at heart.

The real stars of the show are the inanimate objects that the six performers – Carolina Arija Gallardo, Ignacio Martin Prieto, Jimena Trueba Toca, Jorge Brea Salguerio, Olga Llado Valls and Raquel de la Plaza Humera – maneuver and breath life into, to create a world that engages the audience. A collection of objects are used to create scenes from Margritte’s paintings, including balloons, plastic bags, ladders and giant ribbons of material. This troupe of dancers is one highly trained, practiced and toned group. Their precision is mesmerising as they appear to move objects effortlessly around the stage and perform movements in perfect unison.  In various pieces it appears as if six dancers are a reflection of one dancer on stage.

It is a hard task to select highlights from the pieces presented, but the inflation of a giant plastic bag in which a dancer invisibly glides and maneuvers it around the stage like an enormous jellyfish is one. Material filled with helium balloons that become clouds and dresses dancing among the dancers is another. There are moments of humour (and wonderful use of black and red diving flippers) and moments of incredulous wonder. The show is full of such magical moments which had not only the young but also myself guessing, “How did they do that?”

The Perth International Arts Festival is committed to presenting the best acts from around the world and it certainly has achieved this with this production. Clouds is an entertaining, engaging, unique piece of work that will enchant whether you are five or one hundred and five.

Note: If you get a chance before seeing Clouds, google the works of Rene Margritte for a greater understanding of some of the artistic representations.

Clouds

Perth International Arts Festival

Regal Theatre – 474 Hay Street, Subiaco

Thursday February 14th – Sunday 17th