Balletboyz: Fourteen Days
In a set of four collaborations Balletboyz gave an evening of excitement, elegance and wit. Javier de Frutos’ The Title Is In The Text was an exacting exercise in physicality and balance, at times breathtaking and often fun and played against a challenging score by Scott Walker it shows the company at there very best best. Iván Peréz created Human Animal, an elegant diversion that saw the dancers herding around the stage, calm and unified with moments that seemed like human dressage, mannered and humanised and then breaking from that and giving a sense of wildness, elegant still but with rogues amongst the pack. The score by Jody Talbot was the easiest on the ears of the evening and worked beautifully. Us by Christopher Wheeldon saw two dancers in the most intimate of works, sensitive, passionate and at times erotic, but above all it demonstrated the exquisite talents of two dancers working in total harmony with both each other and Keaton Henson’s beautiful score. The fourth work was choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, famous as we know from TV but here demonstrating his much broader skills. The Indicator Line was the most theatrical of the works, not surprisingly, and had the simplest narrative, but it too demonstrated the demands that are made on contemporary dancers, combing classical movement and form with modern and perhaps the more commercial. This is not criticism, the pice was fascinating, violent and entertaining.
After a short interval Balletboyz delivered a revival of an early work by Russel Maliphant, Fallen, and the complex and at times kaleidoscopic forms that the company create were truly beautiful, heightened by Michael Hulls stunning lighting. Fallen feels as fresh and as beautiful as ever and is certainly worthy of revival.
This programme is not only beautiful and exciting but is also a fine example of team playing, both on and off the stage and it offers brilliant value too, with five works across the evening how could one fail to go home feeling fully entertained and satisfied.
Dome Concert Hall
28 November
Andrew Kay
Rating:
