BALLET NIGHTS at Lanterns Studio Theatre

★★★★

“a unique experience to get up close to some of the most high-profile and promising dancers of the moment”

Jamiel Devernay-Laurence is back this spring with another programme of emerging and established dance talent at the Lanterns Studio Theatre. With the format now fairly well established, the production and compering is slicker, yet it is still the quality of the performers and choreographers across the programme that makes this show unique.

Where else can you see top tier company dancers this close and personal? Yasmine Naghdi and Reece Clarke, both principals with the Royal Ballet, headline this programme. The show closer, the famous balcony Pas de Deux from Kenneth Macmillan’s Romeo and Juliet, was first danced by Naghdi on the Opera House stage aged just 22. Approaching a decade later, she is still convincingly the lovestruck teen opposite Clarke’s long limbed lothario. However, it is their first appearance in a lesser known piece that really shows off their athleticism. The Spring Waters Pas de Deux was choreographed by Asaf Messerer for the Bolshoi Ballet in the 1950s. It’s supposedly legendary for astounding American audiences with how powerful ballet could be – a brilliant companion piece to Macmillan’s more emotive choreography. Clarke and Naghdi undoubtedly rise to the challenge of the piece, throwing themselves across the full width of the studio stage effortlessly. The final lift is a dazzling combination of beauty and technical skill – with Naghdi appearing to float above Clarke’s head as they both glide off the stage.

Where the classical elements demonstrate beauty and grace – excitement and ingenuity comes from the contemporary works. Jordan James Bridge’s self conceived And So the Rhythm Goes, is a stand out and back on this programme after first appearing in Ballet Nights 001. Performed to an electronic track by British composer Rival Consoles, his movements are spellbinding, seamlessly blending classical traditions with hip hop and queer club culture in a way that is truly bewitching. He is without doubt a talent to watch.

Pett|Clausen-Knight’s Nerve Wire is exactly as the name suggests – a bright spark of a piece that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Again conceived and performed by the artists, the piece is full to the brim of jerky movements and reactions as if the pair are electricity personified. Then the music cuts, but the movement continues, leaving you anxiously waiting to see how it ends. It’s daring and dynamic choreography, portraying a maturity and confidence surely built over the last five working together as Pett|Clausen-Knight and during their time together at Company Wayne MacGregor.

Watson and Woodvine are just starting out on their own journey as a young duo choreographing and performing together. Their piece displays some nice ideas, pretty lifts and partner work where both of their long hair intertwines so that you almost lose who is who. But the piece could benefit from some tightening up to avoid the raw, youthful energy from verging on the wild and messy.

Wildness is harnessed by both Laurel Dalley Smith and Felicity Chadwick in two pieces both created in lockdown. Similar themes of isolation and a need to explore space play out in different ways, but both are always in control. In Laurel’s piece, a solo from Seven Portraits by Sir Robert Cohan created for her, she has an animal-like quality, eyes darting, head twitching, exploring a woodland space but interrupting herself as if startled by her own shadow. Chadwick on the other hand, performing 324a choreographed by Joshua Junker, explores the space with frenzied movement, seemingly battling against the constraints of a small flat by stretching and expanding in to all that is available.

But that’s not all. There are also appearances from Chloe Keneally, performer with the English National Ballet in two traditional solos from Paquita and Sleeping Beauty, and a ‘mystery guest’, who is gratuitously revealed to be Devernay-Laurence’s brother, tackling a tap number. House pianist Viktor Erik Emanuel is also back, despite only accompanying one performance, 324a, opening both acts with solos on the gorgeous grand piano gifted by Elton John.

Ballet Nights offers a unique experience to get up close to some of the most high-profile and promising dancers of the moment. The unbeatable view, and chance to see both classic pieces and contemporary works is a thrill. It may not all blow your socks off – but there is almost a guarantee something will.

BALLET NIGHTS at Lanterns Studio Theatre

Reviewed on 24th February 2024

by Amber Woodward

Photography by Deborah Jaffe

Previously reviewed at this venue:

BALLET NIGHTS 2023 | ★★★★★ | September 2023

BALLET NIGHTS

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★★★★

“It’s a privilege to be this up close and personal to such exceptional dance talent”

In London’s docklands, nestled between high rise blocks of flats, is a rather unremarkable building, only conspicuous for its brick exterior next to the glass and chrome of its neighbours. But for six nights this autumn, the Lanterns Theatre plays host to the ‘world premiere’ season of Ballet Nights, promising to be quite a spectacular string of classic and contemporary dance performance from established names and new voices.

Jamiel Devernay-Laurence’s ambitious variety show concept isn’t quite intuitive to grasp. Is it a way to continue working for some of ballet’s recent retirees? Is it a showcase of new work from up and coming choreographers? Devernay-Laurence’s slightly jumbled delivery as compère for the evening doesn’t clear things up much. Star names like Steven McRae might be the draw for many, but the new works are just as exciting and all the more intriguing.

The seating in the studio theatre means no member of the audience can be more than 20 metres away from the performers. It’s a privilege to be this up close and personal to such exceptional dance talent – seeing the sweat forming on backs and brows, hearing sharp intakes of breath and deep, lengthy exhales. But it’s the facial expressions that are most arresting.

Performers from the Royal Ballet prove why they command the awe and praise of the dance world. Melissa Hamilton, first soloist with the Royal Ballet, is a revelation opening and closing the programme. The expressiveness of her interpretation of Mikhail Fokine’s Dying Swan moved me to tears – her darting eyes full of fear and incomprehension at the death that’s to befall her. Performing Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto with Reece Clarke, their lithe limbs find infinite extension. Steven McRae oozes cool with Czárdás, a tap number performed in concert with guest violinist Vasko Vassilev and house pianist Viktor Erik Emanuel. McRae owns the stage and he knows it – with just a ripple of his fingers you read his machismo, strength and daring.

“a uniquely intimate experience with truly extraordinary dancers”

This first programme from Ballet Nights has a lot to offer and there are new works from choreographers Gavin McCaig, Jordan James Bridge, and Peter Leung of New English Ballet Theatre. These all bring excitement in their originality and performers expertise. Taylor and Nunes dart across the stage together, with Nunes linking an impressive number of chaîné turns to set the starting gun in McCaig’s You Will Get Your Wants. Jordan James Bridge’s musicality is spellbinding, seamlessly blending classical traditions with hip hop and club dance movements in a way that was truly bewitching.

There are some clunkier moments. Isadora, presented by Yorke Dance Project, is a strange piece to showcase with the lack of narrative in such a short extract making its distractingly sexual choreography feel gratuitous – the dancers themselves looked a bit sheepish when time came for their bow. House pianist Viktor Erik Emanuel, performing on what the audience is told is Elton John’s grand piano, gets two solo moments; and whilst the first Chopin piece was excellent, Ballade No.2, in B Minor by Liszt felt slightly over indulgent, reinforced by a preemptive applause from one audience member.

Ballet Nights offers a uniquely intimate experience with truly extraordinary dancers. The whole evening, from the thick, matte programmes to the dramatic lighting, layered and textured costumes to even the decor in the backstage bar has been carefully considered and finished to a high production standard. It’s a commendable effort.

Tag Archives: Deborah Jaffe

BALLET NIGHTS

★★★★

Lanterns Studio Theatre

BALLET NIGHTS at Lanterns Studio Theatre

★★★★

“a unique experience to get up close to some of the most high-profile and promising dancers of the moment”

BALLET NIGHTS at Lanterns Studio Theatre