Unspoken Spoken

Reviewed by Estela Avalos
Dance Camera West Festival
Through Jan. 12

This review is part of the Z. Clark Branson/Stage Raw/Grow@TheWallis Mentorship Program for Young Journalists

Unspoken Spoken, Experimental Short, Fin Walker, Great Britain

Directed and choreographed by Fin Walker, Unspoken Spoken addresses the social norms and societal rules that keep us bound by isolation and fear.

The film delves into the spaces that lie beyond what’s spoken or accepted in daily life, exploring several stories. In one, a young woman refuses to draw her physical outline in school and communicates in British Sign Language. The performer’s engaging movement and fluttering of imagination prove how powerful telling a story can be- even without words. Another story follows two men and a woman in a wheelchair aggressively avoiding contact with each other only to surrender to a lulling embrace later on. Their movements transform from isolated and fearful to embracing their own human struggle.

The various pieces are performed by Roberta Pitre, Rebecca Dowdswell, Dan Daw, Julie Cleves, and Thomasin Gülgec, all whom have speech or physical disabilities. We witness stories performed by those who are often silenced, dismissed or ignored because of their respective disabilities.

Unspoken Spoken powerfully ends with all five dancers sitting comfortably among each other, leaning against each other, recalling the fear that initially encouraged them to initially avoid each other. The film beautifully explores our modern human nature; hiding for cover behind objects in order to avoid human contact.

DANCE CAMERA WEST FESTIVAL at REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., Downtown; and AUTOMATA, 504 Chung King Ct., Chinatown; Thurs.-Sun., screening times vary; through Jan. 12th. Festival Schedule here.  Running time: 17:14