Dance Dance Dance JAAM 28 ed. Clare Needham and Helen Rickerby (JAAM Collective, 2010) ISBN 1173-633X

Gillian Cameron

Dipping into Dance Dance Dance reminded me of a Melbourne art exhibition I went to some years back. A group of Pitjantjatjaran people from central Australia - old, young, middle-aged - painted their bodies and danced and sang in celebration of the opening. What struck me was that everyone was involved - the two year toddler dancing with as much enthusiasm as the older members - and that what we think of as separate ‘art forms' moved as one.

The idea behind Dance Dance Dance is, as editor Clare Needham explains, to get "writers thinking about dance and dancers thinking about writing" and "to gather them together and ask them to perform as an ensemble". Dance Dance Dance achieves this - not just for the contributors but for the reader as well. There is a wonderful mix of short stories, interviews, poetry, photos and artwork. While some of the pieces seemed (to this reader at any rate) to have only a slight connection to dance, most explore the connection of dance and writing in thought-provoking ways.

I particularly liked Needham's interview with dancer, choreographer, writer and reviewer Lyne Pringle. Pringle describes the similarities in dance and writing: "Both involve a search for the right language to express ideas; with dance this is a created language ... cutting and pasting phrases, rhythm, dynamic shifts, precision, musicality, use of imagery, the element of surprise and a desire to communicate with and emotionally engage an audience..." Interestingly (and challengingly) Pringle finds writing reviews a creative process, reviews as works of art in themselves. The reviewer is "a witness ... [and] their primary role is to advocate for their art form."  Interviews with dancer and writer Michelle Powles and writer, director and production designer Sam Trubridge are similarly engaging.

Mikaela Nyman's ‘The Obituary' of her grandmother Arja Kuusamo and her lost legacy of Icelandic Rumputa was entrancing with its depiction of Arja dancing the seasons, the land, the birds, even a harsh judgment of death in the boggy marshland around Lake Inarijarvi. "Her feet brought back the cranes in the spring and danced with hundreds of them of them among breaking ice floes.... From deep within, she'd find an ancient voice, pitched between moose and crane, that carried across the moorland, joyful and mournful at the same time." So entranced was I, I went online to find out more about this incredible woman, the Koit language and Rumputa - only to draw a complete blank and to find she was, well, really incredible! Full marks, Mikaela!

Short stories from writers that I had not previously encountered - Kate Baggott, Simon Minto, Nina Seja and Julie Hill - glide across the dance floor and leave me wanting more. Linzy Forbes' ‘Netsuke' with its "dark forest"/"white forest" is subtle and intriguing. I was initially disconcerted by the opening paragraphs of Tim Nees' ‘The Way She Moves' because of its obvious parody of Lorie Moore's ‘Dance in America.' While Moore's story is poignant, finishing on an uplifting note, Nees' is brutal and finishes in a flatter but, arguably, more down to earth trajectory.

Poetry is well represented. Jo Thorpe's ‘Hunt the slipper' weaves a breathless spell of seduction around legendary prima ballerina Marie Taglioni. In ‘Dancing on lego' Anna Jackson skillfully skitters and slides between the "bits of lego and plastic cars/ still covering the floor" and the performance of writing, "I know not to look at the faces/ lined up to judge" thinking only of the "rhythm and the next step/ in the sequence". Extracts from Janis Freegard's ‘The continuing Adventures of Alice Spider' have whetted my appetite for more about "Alice Webster". Nicole Taylor's ‘Jerry's Dance' underlines dance as an integral part of the human experience:

Jerry crawls on his
knees,
 ... "If you can move your eyes,
your fingers,
you can dance".

And that's just the tip of the ballerina's pointe. There are many more poetry morsels from Barbara Strang, Jennifer Compton, David Eggleton, to name but a few.

Last but not least, Kesha Robert's photos provide a sizzling display of Latin American dance festivities. My copy of Dance Dance Dance is now looking very well thumbed! Congratulations to Needham and Rickerby on an excellent toe-tapping extravaganza.

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