Bodylex at Bakehouse Theatre ReviewThe first ten minutes of Naarm/Melbourne based legal academic turned choreographer Rhys Ryan's Bodylex is a little like floating in a sensory deprivation tank: all that exists is a metronomic beat, darkness and the subtle movements of the three bodies on stage: dancers Anika de Ruyter, Piaera Lauritz and Emma Riches.

Bodylex is an examination of humanity's collective evolution, or devolution, from social groups governed by the rhythms of the universe, by the dictates of natural law, into societies governed by legal constructs shone down upon all from above by our institutions.

John Collopy's lighting design is pivotal. The dancers wield an enormous luminescent rod, maybe representing the long arm of the law, and the interaction between Ryan's choreography, Collopy's design, the dancers' skill and the laws of physics is a wonder.

Similarly, Robert Downie's sound design incrementally morphs from the monotonous drip drip of the metronome into a cacophonous crescendo of case law precedents and statutory provisions. Every inch of our body is regulated now; is this inevitable and necessary, and if so, who should decide the manner and form that this regulation should take?

Bodylex is proof that legal theory mixed with modern dance can be much more interesting than it sounds.

Four stars
By James Murphy
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