{"id":369,"date":"2023-09-06T12:18:50","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T12:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/?p=369"},"modified":"2023-09-14T10:35:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T10:35:40","slug":"describing-piece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/describing-piece\/","title":{"rendered":"Describing piece"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cai Tomos - Describing Piece\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0mZqhr27I6M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Heading back into the theatre after the requisite interval, I was ready to be dazzled, and Cai Tomos\u2019\u00a0<em>Describing Piece \u00a0<\/em>was just the ticket. Tomos stands with his back to us as a film trailer voiceover booms over the darkness, describing the dance with satiric gravitas. \u2018Something meaningful is about to happen\u2019 the voice intones, as Tomos peeks over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the crowd, and his Mum. In fact, the show is based on a conversation with his mother, relayed to us via the trailer voice: \u2018I don\u2019t understand dance\u2019, Mum says. \u2018Mum, there is nothing to understand\u2019, replies Tomos. Later, over much vocal hilarity from the audience and the soaring strains of Vivaldi, Tomos stares and reaches into the distance, while the voiceover explains the movement\u2019s possible interpretations: \u2018Arguing with God \/ Taking down a duvet because a friend is staying\u2019. Performed to perfection,\u00a0<em>Describing Piece \u00a0<\/em>lit up the stage, completely captivating the tickled audience.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Lauren Fried<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I\u2019ve lost count of the times I\u2019ve tried to convince dance non-believers that you don\u2019t have to \u2018understand\u2019 dance in order to enjoy it. Now all I have to do is direct them to Cai Tomos\u2019s\u00a0<em>Describing Piece<\/em>, a video of which should be available in the foyer of every dance theatre. Former Earthfall performer Tomos\u2019s solo, acutely observed and very, very funny, deconstructs every dance clich\u00e9 in the book, from meaningful looks at the audience to running in circles shirtless, laying bare the tricks designed to make dance look deep and meaningful.\u00a0As Vivaldi\u2019s\u00a0<em>Four Seasons\u00a0<\/em>ebbed and flowed, a voiceover put the charismatic Tomos through this paces, offering a beginner\u2019s guide to dance gestures: raising his arms to the sky, Tomos could be angry with God. On the other hand he could be flying a kite. Dedicated to Tomos\u2019s Mum (who doesn\u2019t understand dance),\u00a0<em>Describing Piece<\/em>\u00a0is a mini-masterpiece that sidesteps cheap mockery and springs from a deep affection for Tomos\u2019s chosen art-form. \u2018Sometimes,\u2019 he confides, \u2018Being alive is about dancing.\u2019&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Keith Watson.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Heading back into the theatre after the requisite interval, I was ready to be dazzled, and Cai Tomos\u2019\u00a0Describing Piece \u00a0was just the ticket. Tomos stands with his back to us as a film trailer voiceover booms over the darkness, describing the dance with satiric gravitas. \u2018Something meaningful is about to happen\u2019 the voice intones, as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","_vp_format_video_url":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/0mZqhr27I6M?si=wU-OMv-9fgbzb6Wc","_vp_image_focal_point":{"x":0.81,"y":0.49},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-past","category-projects","post_format-post-format-video"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caitomos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/describing.webp?fit=1000%2C472&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Iu26-5X","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":640,"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions\/640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caitomos.com\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}