» Review: Rambert Dance Company – Comedy of Change Tour
Rambert once again delivered a programme that displayed the sheer breadth and scope of their artistic and athletic range. Opening with Jonathan Goddard dancing, Richard Alston’s Dutiful Ducks highlighted both the talent of this young dancer and the quality of Alston’s choreography; passionate, intense but tinged with humour too. Goddard was elegant, but also masculine and powerful in this virtuoso performance.
Next was Don’t Think About It, a new work by Miguel Altunaga exploring male society. Ritualistic, machismo and fear jostled together as the men, dressed in cheap suits and ties, fought for supremacy. Witty and totally entertaining, this was work of extraordinary promise from this new choreographer.
Artistic Director Mark Baldwin’s new work lays at the heart of the tour, inspired by Darwin in this, the 200th anniversary year. The theme of evolution was used to exploits notions of alikeness and difference, metamorphosis, development and, of course, change. This was also Baldwin’s tribute to choreographer Merce Cunningham. Brilliant costume designs in black and white allowed the dancers to appear and disappear in moments, and in the final passage their uniformity and anonimity served to emphasise that, despite our differences we are all as one. Julian Anderson’s score was disquieting and complex, and personally I did not engage with it, but I could see that it worked well and that one is not always meant to feel comfortable.
The finale, Tread Softly, by Henri Oguike, to Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, was a breathtaking end to the evening that showed the company at its best. The costumes conjured images of Degas’ tired and almost sweaty ballerinas. The choreography exploited pattern, rhythmic repetition and musical motifs, as did Schubert, and the dancers executed movements that mixed the comically jerky and repetitive with leaps and spins of pure classical elegance. This work combined artistic integrity and excellence with pure entertainment in a way that Rambert do so well, simply delighting the audience and sending them home in the knowledge that they will be hungry for more.
Theatre Royal, Brighton, 4 February
5/5
Andrew Kay
