Dancer Rodney Bell celebrates return home
Marriage of many media proves match made in Meremere
Performer extraordinaire Rodney Bell has been away from New Zealand for 12 years performing with American integrated dance companies.
Dance fans here will remember him from the early years of dance company Touch Compass when his spin turns and derring-do flying wheelchair were a highlight, but just as many will remember him for the sensitivity of his dancing.
Bell has now returned and celebrates his homecoming in Meremere, a beautifully crafted hour of beguiling storytelling interspersed with gentle audience interaction, wheelchair tricks, dancing with shadows and interactive lines of light or against video clips, with a continuous stream of gorgeous live music from Eden Mulholland.
In Meremere, Bell shares stories from his life; these are never very long, just enough to convey the essence. There are incidents from his years in San Francisco, especially the final three when he lived on the street, struggling to find food and shelter and keep up his medical insurance.
He shares the highs and the lows, the small triumphs, everyday routines, the joy of winning of a coveted Isadora Duncan award for his dancing, the inspiration of Moana the one-legged seagull, the surprise of being a reporter from the streets on CNN. Homecoming stories also feature, stories of family and whanau in Te Kuiti.
His dancing is moving and absorbing, sculptural and full of emotion, and his blues harp playing is as soulful as ever. His commitment to making a better life for others is firm and ongoing.
Billed as a solo, Meremere is a complex work of art where design, AV and lighting play as significant a role as storytelling, music and dance. It has been developed by Movement of the Human, a dream team comprised of designer John Verryt, AV producer Rowan Pierce, lighting designer Ruby Reihana Wilson, musician Eden Mulholland, director Malia Johnston, dramatist Emma Willis and Te Matauranga Maori dramatist Tui Matira Ranapiri-Ransfield.
It could be presented in a number of formats and lengths to suit the space of performance.