Review: Jefta van Dinther’s REMACHINE – not a win

I had high hopes for REMACHINE, but I’m afraid they weren’t realised.

The 2023 work by Jefta van Dinther promises to discuss some interesting ideas: “the interplay between humans and an inescapable hyper-mechanised environment”. In real terms, this equates to a revolving stage and some hard-labour-esque movement.

It’s not that the above couldn’t work, it’s just that the current structure is long-winded and repetitive. The piece is also part gig as the six dancers sing for at least 40% of the time. They all have strong-ish voices and perform with emotion, but they aren’t professional singers; consequently, some of the harmonies feel a bit pitchy, and the overall mood soon becomes on the wailing side of things.

As the work begins, the slightly raised stage starts to revolve. At the highest speed, it’s still relatively sedate, but the concept of course adds capability and (fleeting) moments of interest. As the floor is moving, if you want to stay in place, you have to move like hell, and the dancers did this with quiet, commendable skill. At no moment did they exude panic or uncontrolled effort, which is ironic considering all of the movement seemed to be about creating the notion of exertion.

The blurb about van Dinther notes that his work discusses labour, and this I felt. Extended sections focused on crawling, walking, dragging and pulling. The crawling developed into intricate movement, like a carpenter or architect actioning their precise, articulate daily movement. This section had worthwhile language, but perhaps went on for a little too long. Matters weren’t helped by what followed – dancers clutching onto the underside of the stage and being dragged around pretty much motionless. Yes, one can take most anything into a philosophical realm, but what’s the actual reality for the observer? This isn’t interesting, especially for somewhere between 5 minutes or so.

The walking section wasn’t great for me either. I believe in the power of the walk, but this over-embellished manner felt like it went precisely nowhere. Which isn’t quite the case as the dancers subtly change places as they trudge along. The dragging dragged, as by this point I’d started to lose patience.

The final scene saw the dancers attach ropes to the centre of the stage and pull away at them. As they did so, they wailed, “Will we fall? Will we fall where we fall?” – for the record, they didn’t by the time the lights went off.

The auditorium wasn’t full, and we sat there for a while before the first person started to applaud. I’d say the reaction wasn’t great, but the dancers, of course, deserve praise for their efforts.

Overall, ideas and atmosphere are present, but structure and pace are lacking. I’m aware I could be the problem, that I don’t have the depth of intelligence to connect with the work, etc. However, I see a lot of dance and feel I can decipher when something is working, even if not personally. REMACHINE wasn’t a win.

When the Peacock Theatre reopens, Sadler’s Wells will have three central London spaces to fill. I’m not a business person, but I presume theatres are ideally open rather than dark in financial terms. It’s important for makers to have performance opportunities, and for the public to be exposed to new/valuable work – I just hope Sadler’s aren’t finding themselves in a supply/demand conundrum. Yes, we want theatres open, but if the work turns people off, it will likely turn them away also.

Matthew Paluch Guest Author

Matthew Paluch was awarded a place at The Royal Ballet School in 1990 where he graduated in 1997. His first four years as a professional dancer were spent working with London City Ballet, Scottish Ballet, K-Ballet and English National Ballet, becoming a full-time member of ENB until leaving in 2006.

Matthew graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance, Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma in 2007, and was formerly on faculty at The Royal Ballet School. He completed his Masters in Ballet Studies at Roehampton University in 2011, has been a freelance writer since 2010 and currently works in the Law Sector.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.