“has flashes of brilliance but fails to completely astound”
Transferring from Sadler’s Well Theatre, this engaging and emotionally profound double bill makes innovative use its talented ensemble. Not only dancers, these men (boyz?) have together devised the opening half (‘Them’), whilst the post-interval ‘Us’ showcases the work of award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. The result is a slight and uneven evening of dance that has flashes of brilliance but fails to completely astound.
Short videos act as a prelude to each section and give an interesting glimpse in the rehearsal room. For me, these reflect nicely the attitude of BalletBoyz as a company, seeking to attract new talent and inviting audience members old and young to find their own way into a dance studio. For ‘Them’, the opening piece, the fun and friendly atmosphere of the video never quite makes it on stage. Despite skilfully utilising strength and balance to create some pretty shapes on a hollow cuboid structure that is both jungle gym and cage, the piece has neither the witty self-awareness of a show like ‘Boys’, nor the emotional weight of Wheeldon’s later choreography.
Benjamin Knapper’s nifty footwork and exuberant hip swings were by far the standout moment of ‘Them’, and Charlotte Harding’s string and percussion score, sounding like a modern take on the ‘Psycho’ soundtrack, at times engages more than the bodies on stage. Wheeldon’s ‘Us’ started as a duet exploring a loving relationship between two men, and acts as the show’s finale. This stirring work, displaying both strength and caress, shifting weight and rippling, semi-clad bodies, ends the night on a high. Wheeldon’s work feels a little more complete in comparison to ‘Them’, but the ensemble work that precedes the duet doesn’t really add much to an already touching and visible story. Keaton Henson’s Hans-Zimmer-esque score matches the movement without being too overbearing.
Despite the pleasantries though, this show lacks surprise, daring and risk. Physically, the dancers are precise and in perfect sync with each other. The overall result though is a string of nice moments, but none that truly take your breath away.
“It felt as though we were watching an exploration of trust, love, dependency and a sweet tenderness”
BalletBoyz creators Billy Trevitt and Michael Nunn paired four leading choreographers with four composers and tasked them to create a dance piece for the BalletBoyz dancers in just fourteen days. They gave them a theme – balance. It is an ambitious idea but the result is uneven.
The first piece was ‘The Title is in the Text,’ choreographed by Javier De Frutos and with music by Scott Walker. Some may remember Scott from the 1960s duo The Walker Brothers, and wonder what he is doing writing music for a contemporary dance piece. He is now a respected composer of avant-garde compositions, and had a Prom dedicated to his music this year. His current musical style is miles away from ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore,’ and this piece tends more towards the unsettlingly apocalyptic than the sweet. With jarring shrieks and repeated spoken word iterations it works well with De Frutos’ choreography. The dancers work on and around a giant see-saw, taking the theme of balance very literally. The see-saw tips and changes as they shift the balance, sustaining the angle with arabesques, sliding down the board, falling from the highest point into the arms of other dancers. The level of trust between the dancers and their collective strength and lightness turn what could be just a quirky idea into something which is sometimes unsettling, sometimes powerful and occasionally amusing. It is an intriguing piece and it definitely holds the attention.
Next came ‘Human Animal’ which, despite it’s title, had a distinctly equine air. The dancers spent quite a while moving in a circle, pawing the ground like a group of slightly skittish horses. I expected more of choreographer Ivan Perez; his work is often powerful, emotional and intense, but here he seems to have tried a light touch and it doesn’t have much impact. The piece was created in an unusual way, having been choreographed in silence by Perez. The sound of the dancers’ feet was recorded and sent to Joby Talbot, who then composed the music. The second half of the piece has more power, building from the presence of a solo dancer, but overall it isn’t a great success.
If Human Animal lacks humanity the next work, ‘Us’, has it in spades. This is the strongest of the four new pieces, a beautiful exploration of a relationship between two men. It is strong, tender and moving. The dancers are in physical contact almost the whole time and when they do move apart it feels like a disaster. The intimacy is highlighted by intricate shared hand gestures that are almost ritualistic. It felt as though we were watching an exploration of trust, love, dependency and a sweet tenderness. Choreographed by Christopher Whealdon, who is probably best known for the award winning An American in Paris, with music by Keaton Henson, this is the stand out work of the four.
The last piece in the first half was ‘The Indicator Line,’ choreographed by ‘Strictly’ judge Craig Revel Horwood. It is full of energy and has some refreshingly powerful moments but it is stylistically confused and tries too hard to tell a story. Charlotte Harding’s music provides a percussive and vivid environment for the dancers, but are they clog dancing, tapping, Irish dancing or, as an audience member said in the break, is it ‘a little bit West Side Story?’ Horwood based the work on his family history, discovered during filming ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ for the BBC. He found out that one of his ancestors was a champion clog dancer. The dancers seem to be workers, and at one point an overseer or military man appears on stage in a red coat like a pantomime villain or the traditional baddie in a classical ballet. Despite the unevenness of the piece the dancers tackle it with relish and the strength and power of some of the movements are a delight.
After the interval we were treated to a revival of the award winning ‘Fallen,’ a work that was first performed by the BalletBoyz in 2013. Choreographed by Russell Malifant with music by Armand Amar and highly effective lighting design by Michael Hulls, this is a fluid and athletic piece that perfectly showcases the BalletBoyz ensemble. At first the dancers circle and turn, weaving with sinuous grace. Then the piece develops into an abstract of lifts, throws, falls, rolls and balances that have a sublime grace and strength.
Despite the difference in the quality of the pieces this was a very worthwhile evening at Saddler’s Wells. The BalletBoyz pulled it off.
