Dance Europe/ by Ali Mahbouba

"…A more emotive and at times beautifully poignant work came from the hands of Lesley Telford. Here but gone refers perhaps to the fleeting in our lives. It takes its five dancers on a journey where resoluteness is intermingled with longing and desperation. Central to the piece is an abstract landscape painting (by sister Heather Telford) on a scroll of canvas some 20 metres long which is gradually rolled open, giving one the impression of being on the road and seeing scenery passing by. Right from the start there is a sense of urgency as the dancers are driven on by the somewhat ominous music. The hectic life journey of these individuals and their chance meetings is determined by the long string that cuts diagonally across the stage, sybolising a road but at the same time forming a barrier, holding them back from their advance and from each other. Most affecting is Rei Watanabe’s helpless expression as she has her face constantly turned away and her eyes covered by a man behind her who tries to sheild her from seeing the end of the road- where perhaps an uncertain future awaits her."
*Dance Europe/ by Ali Mahbouba, January 2007, Systems of Development and Developing Choreographers