Theory of Repetition in Company 605's Loop, Lull

PuSh Festival - Scotiabank Dance Centre Lobby

Layered with complexity and intrigue, Loop, Lull is a continuous echo of itself. Company 605 offers insight to the process of movement and dance creation through their latest work Loop, Lull. This excerpt of a work-in-progress was part of the Dancing on the Edge Festival in July 2018, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in January 2019 and Vancouver International Showcase in February 2019. With movement, text and communication, Company 605 brings attention to a constantly changing structure with the imminent newness that comes from repetitive patterns.

Loop, Lull captures Company 605’s dynamic urban and contemporary movement style with innovative choreography and focus on the individuality of the performers. With clear sections of the performance separated by the structure, repetitive phrasing and movement quality, the dancers take an organic approach in how they interpret movement. In this shared creative process between Company 605 and five performers, the introduced gestures, text and phrases quickly become the basis for development. The seamless transitions between the performers in their interaction with one another and created flow of exchanging weight in varied groupings brings up the question of where each looping structure begins and ends.

The continuous build of material insists on an awareness between the performers as they are in constant communication with one another, both verbally and physically. The casually repeated text such as, “stop now” and “I’ll do it better next time”, is spoken throughout the piece. This text ties into the repetitive structure that is reflected in their movement and adds another layer of repeated coding to the work.

Loop, Lull Poster

Company 605’s work challenged audience perception and the idea that repetition stays monotonous and unchanging. Loop, Lull achieved a specific focus and engagement as the action and refinement of repetition was never exactly the same.