The PosleSlov company ask many questions in introduction to their show. Does a body have its own soul? Does a body make us a human being? What is hidden beneath nudity, and what is nudity itself?
The production consists of 10 scenes, all performed naked, with permutations of the 5 women and 1 man performing. I was struck by the power and control they exhibit in mainly slow and detailed dance. They sometimes ignore each other working in parallel, sometimes in couples making scant connection.
They remain expressionless in the main, unless moving hands from face to reveal a grimace or a grin. There is nothing sexual in their nudity but we can see muscles flex and reveal. The most powerful scene features one woman with her long hair caressed by three others – this is also the only scene where we hear voices rather than music, as the three keen as they stroke her hair. She then uses her hair as a veil and we see her fingers slip through to slowly reveal her face.
It is beautiful to watch and provokes thought as we try to interpret.
Derek Benfield