Dance

The choreography of the dancing was satisfactory but there were flaws such as the lack of synchronisation in the Rhumba dancing and poor choice of music in the final dance by Jane Maddox. An interesting experiment was the dance improvisation by Jane Taylor to a poem read most effectively by Con O'Leary.

An Academy Award "Plasticine" film made by O'Neill of Christ-church was an excellent choice. This allegoric cartoon "A Flight to Venus" involved a novel technique using animation of grotesquely human plasticine puppets. The film begins with a campaign for recruiting spacemen. The intrepid volunteer who survives the "medical" sets off in a rocket and lands on desolate Venus. On a little plaque inscribed: "Laid by the few survivors of an atomic war who now live underground."

Underground he discovers some little green men who greet him tearfully. "Why do you cry?" he asks. The reply is: "Many years ago, life was easy. Venus was in peace. But just in case we had lots of conferences. And just in easel the Greens made Atom bombs. And just in case the Reds made Atom bombs. Then one day . . ."

... A terrifying symbolic representation of atomic explosion is followed by scenes of silent desolation. The background theme of "Pop goes the Weasel" played very slowly heightens the dramatic effect of bathos.

The spaceman invites the little creatures to return with him to Earth, but through a telescope they show him Earth with tiny mushroom-clouds popping out everywhere.

This was a technically brilliant film and deserves to be commended for its dramatic originality.