Minor Tears

Drawing on the information from Professor Helen Thomas’ enquiry “Pain and Injury in a Cultural Context” (2007) and from choreographer Jenni Wren’s own experience and research process with other dancers, the choreography exposes the athleticism, determination and elegance that professional dancers demonstrate in their work whilst hinting at the vulnerabilities they also experience.

An insightful and artistic expose of what dancers put their bodies through in the name of their art, the dancers costume is a rainbow of colours of Kinesiology Therapeutic tape, strategically applied to represent an actual present day indication of physical status.  The various colours represent differing physical sensations the dancers have expressed such as strength, pain, previous or current injury. 

To the audience, at first, this appears to be a colourful, “different” kind of costume that allows the body to be exposed in space and time.  However the reveal of the information towards the end provides a very different story, allowing the audience an insight into how a dancers body might actually feel.

Reviews:

Sanjoy Roy – Dance Critic
The final image of Slanjayvah Danza’s Minor Tears puts a new spin on the whole piece. A clear trajectory leads up to it. The choreography opens with superbly controlled poses that display grace and power. The music drives more dynamic sequences of whipped turns, long lunges and pumped kicks before both dancers appear to weaken, deliberately showing the effort of achievement. And then comes the reveal: the strikingly bright bands and curious marks across their bodies are colour codes indicating injuries, the “minor tears” that all dancers sustain and perform with. In sensing the pain behind the performance, your heart hurts too.

Vikki Jane Vile – Dance Critic
The evening started strongly with a piece from Jenni Wren’s Slanjayvah Danza entitled Minor Tears, the title reflecting the attitude with which dancers’ injuries are typically treated. The piece was enhanced with the athletic and supple display from its two performers. The music builds gradually, the rhythms quicken but the two remain elegant, demonstrating their ability to be strong in spite of pain. Their simple costuming offered only a basic covering allowing the audience to see the ripple of every muscle and the power in every movement and pose. The final reveal is where the piece really hits home, as we discover that every carefully-placed piece of coloured strapping on their bodies represents a different injury, pain or complaint both past and present; each has been the source of minor tears.