THE BELT at the Coronet Theatre

★★★★★

“an intoxicating dialogue between history and innovation”

The Coronet Theatre’s first-ever site-specific immersive event, The Belt, is an extraordinary fusion of dance, history, architecture and technology, led by South Korea’s renowned Ambiguous Dance Company. The experience unfolds in two distinct parts, guiding the audience from the dark depths of despair to the heights of imagination and innovation. Set in the Grade II listed, restored and reimagined Victorian Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill, this engaging performance fully uses both its hidden and public spaces.

Part 1 – Past: An Intimate Encounter with History

With no more than fifty audience members, divided into five groups, we are led on an atmospheric journey through the lesser-known spaces of the theatre. From the basement used as an air-raid shelter during World War II through backstage corridors and machine rooms and across its rooftop to the theatre’s distinctive cupola, this phase feels like a private expedition into the heart and soul of the building, mostly lit by candlelight.

Choreographed by Boram Kim and performed by seven dancers (Kyungmin Jang, Hak Lee, SeonHwa Park, SoJeong Im, DeokYong Kim, GyuEun Han and Jisoo Gong), five short dance works unfold in these intimate settings. Each room, transformed for this five-day residency, presents a different mood: unsettling (The Room of Struggle and Despair), joyful (The Room of Communication), playful (The Room of Creation), hypnotic (The Room of Precision) and transcendent (The Room of Identity). The music selection is equally diverse, from disco beats to Ravel’s Bolero and Michael Jackson’s Beat It.

The contrast between the restored Victorian architecture and the contemporary fusion of hip-hop, ballet and acrobatics is captivating. Ambiguous Dance Company’s blend of styles – from sharp, street-inspired movements to fluid, balletic gestures – creates an intoxicating dialogue between history and innovation. The dancers’ costumes, along with the music, set dressing, sound and lighting design, further enhance this dynamic interplay.

Part 2 – Future: A Visionary Spectacle of Technological Innovation

The second part of The Belt shifts to the theatre’s main stage, a liminal space where the past meets the future and where raw human physicality meets cutting-edge technology. Here, the full company, including choreographer Boram Kim, delivers a high-octane performance. While rooted in traditional movement, the choreography embraces a futuristic aesthetic, complemented by pulsating dance music and dynamic lighting. The dancers’ costumes, nodding to fetish wear and cyberpunk, feature a mix of leather, mesh and lace, with some dancers wearing face coverings that blur gender lines and challenge binaries.

The Theatre as a Living Museum

What makes The Belt truly special is how it integrates the Coronet Theatre itself as a central character in the performance. The building’s rich history, quirky aesthetic and architectural features are not merely backdrops; they are woven into the storytelling. As you move through the intimate spaces in Part 1 and experience the explosive action on the main stage in Part 2, you feel the presence of those who have walked these passageways over the past century, making The Belt a must-see for anyone interested in the intersection of dance, history and cultural innovation.

THE BELT at the Coronet Theatre

Reviewed on 11th September 2024

by Ellen Cheshire

Photography courtesy Ambiguous Dance Company

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE BECKETT TRILOGY | ★★★★★ | June 2024

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER | ★★★ | September 2023

RHYTHM OF HUMAN | ★★★★★ | September 2023

LOVEFOOL | ★★★★ | May 2023

DANCE OF DEATH | ★★★★★ | March 2023

WHEN WE DEAD AWAKEN | ★★★★ | March 2022

LE PETIT CHAPERON ROUGE | ★★★★ | November 2021

THE BELT

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

★★★½

“an engaging evening of music”

Kirill Richter, the charismatic pianist, composer and band leader, brings his trio back to London for a one-night immersive multimedia experience in the grand surroundings of the London Coliseum. He is supported by the members of his trio, violinist Alena Zinovieva and cellist August Krepak, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan.

The performance’s first section combines projected backdrops of a variety of images with the music and other sound effects. The projections range from abstract points that gesture towards galaxies, to mountain tops and waves breaking on shore, and the intricate interior workings of machines and gears, and accompany the minimalist-inflected piano trio music that is interspersed with extracts of poetry and the sounds of birds that act as connective tissue between movements.

While the performance is billed as multimedia, it is clearly the music that is the driving force, and indeed it is musically that the piece is best. Richter’s short, instrumental movements wax and wane, gaining volume and momentum before ebbing away again. His rhythmic playing echoes the ticking of a clock or the trickle of sand passing through an hourglass and the string players’ extensive use of pizzicato produces a compelling interplay with the piano. Against the trio’s more limited instrumentation, the background images add further depth, often juxtaposing the metrical time of the musicians with the flow of geological and astronomical eons.

The instrumentalists themselves are virtuosic, and Richter and Zinovieva each take their opportunities to shine. Richter is an engaging and sensitive pianist, the centripetal organising force of the work, and a moment in which Zinovieva stands up to emphasise the temporary predominance of the violin is a high point, allowing to foreground her exquisite playing. Nevertheless, the star is cellist Krepak. He is the most expressive of the three, possessed by music he convulses to the rhythm, his hair flying, while remaining consistently note-perfect. He also employees the most unconventional techniques. Striking the body of the cello like a percussion instrument he produces sounds that recall a ticking clock, dragging the bow up the strings he generates an eerie and unplaceable sound that complements the mesmeric, shifting backgrounds. He is consistently engaging to watch and listen to and adds a further element to the performance.

For the second half, the trio are joined by members of the Uzbekistan National Symphony Orchestra. A large string section, some brass, and orchestral and traditional percussion are led by conductor Alibek Kabdurakhmanov, who is an energetic presence, controlling the volume, timbre, and feel of the orchestra as they work with the Richter trio. The projections in the second half are less meditative than they are imposing, with flames, storms and explosions forming the visual context to a range of more expansive and dynamic pieces. Although this parallels the increased strength of the music aided by the numerous musicians, it feels less well integrated than the first half. The orchestra can stand alone without the need for the multimedia dimension, and the visuals add little to their playing.

The show culminates with a beautifully haunting vocal performance by Nodira Pirmatova, who joins the musicians for the final piece. This returns to the less strident, and to my mind, stronger mood of the earlier pieces and is a fitting end to an engaging evening of music.

Category Archives: Reviews

THE BELT

★★★★★

Coronet Theatre

THE BELT at the Coronet Theatre

★★★★★

“an intoxicating dialogue between history and innovation”