The Arts Depot, near London's Kings Cross, is an excellent new multimedia venue funded by STAR (Short Term Arts Resource). Built in 1865, it was the first ever purpose-built gymnasium in London. Although it is being renovated to its former glory and converted into low cost studio spaces for practicing artists, the main performance space is an enormous, open plan hall.
It was in this hall that Momentary Fusion performed their latest site specific work, High Vaultage. The promenade performance made use of every corner of the great hall, with dancers performing from the changing rooms, in the rafters and on the walls themselves. With live musicians and specially created light and sound scores, the company attempted to infiltrate the space and the audience from every possible direction.
In the two-hour show, however, there were only a few flashes of inspiration. Despite a programme note suggesting that the 'anti-gravitational' choreography would work on a point of communication where ‘energy rushes from the anatomy of the performer directly to the spectator's sensory system’, only occasionally did one sense this working.
Admittedly both the recorded and live sound scores worked well, the dance with ladders was ingenious, and the dancers cycling on tricycles wearing miners’ lamps was bizarre to say the least. Much of the trapeze and 'wall' work did, however, seem to lack emotional engagement despite being visually arresting. The skill and bravery of the performers cannot be denied, but that alone cannot bridge the gap to an expectant audience.