Danza Contemporánea de Cuba

Danza Contemporánea de Cuba certainly can’t be faulted on the generosity of their programme, with three distinct half hour-ish pieces presenting a great night out. Annabelle López Ochoa’s Reversible managed the strange feat of being both titillating and unnerving. Heavy bass soundtracked a more enigmatic opening before it turned into a more punky seduction piece. The female nudity could well have been thematically justified but felt a bit gratuitous to me however.

Brighton-based choreographer Theo Clinkard (soon to be premiering a new piece at the Festival in May) has created a memorable piece in The Listening Room which delved into the stop-start nature of listening to music on the go. The dancers felt isolated or unified in different moments, with comic, juxatposed partitions of movements and some striking pastel colours. George Céspedes’ Matria Etnocentra was a triumph of bold synchrony and thumping about. The militaristic tone gathered some real momentum with a loud industrial soundtrack that riled the crowd to an ovation. A vivid finale to a brilliant performance.

Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 7 March 2017
Rating:
Joe Fuller