1st April 2009
Rambert Dance Company have been at the top of their game for over 80 years as one of Britain’s premier contemporary dance companies. Technically, they are grounded in a blend of classical ballet and contemporary dance; which combines the former’s elegant poise with the latter’s unusual angles; giving the dancers core strength and attack and their repertoire great creative versatility.
Eternal Light (photo: Hugh Glendinning)
Last night’s show was no different in displaying their impressive ambidexterity; the Eternal Light triple bill was a total dance experience.
First on the bill was the new work: Eternal Light; an intensely beautiful, modern Requiem for the living, with Howard Goodall’s gorgeously emotional choral score performed live by Birmingham’s own Ex Cathedra with London Musici orchestra. All this coupled with Michael Howell’s striking design made for an immensely moving, sensorial experience. Rambert’s oeuvre is rooted in the synchronicity of choreographer, composer and designer and in this instance the Baldwin/ Goodall/ Howells holy trinity is flawlessly interwoven as the dancers rise and fall with the sublime score on a backdrop of crystalline crosses and bright light. I did feel, however, that the dancing was perhaps somewhat overshadowed by the other elements; with a sense that the music was reaching a place of transcendence that the earth-bound dancers just couldn’t match. Their movements were relatively low and contained and perhaps lacking the soaring reach necessary to compete with Goodall’s exquisite score. That said, all in all, this was an almost overwhelmingly moving, otherworldly experience that would have left even the staunchest atheist wondering at the sublime.
After the interval came Christopher Bruce’s Swansong: a narrative piece on torture and interrogation – dedicated to Amnesty international. From Eternal Light’s gorgeous shapes and swells here was a stripped-down dialogue for three, accompanied mainly by metallic snaps, voice samples and their own stamping feet that marked out the interplay between victim and interrogators. This was a closer, more relational piece; focussed on interaction and with a strong sense of character. The piece really belonged to Alex Whitley as the victim: our leaping hero in the red t-shirt against the weasely, beige, tap-dancing interrogators. The more complex, relational nature of the piece gave rise to some amazing tangles; moments where the three of them dance together in a twisted line of responsive limbs; or the victim wraps himself around the chair as if it’s an extension of his own body.
Completing the smorgasbord was Carnival of the Animals; a re-working of Siobhan Davies’ original piece set to Saint-Saëns’ famous score. This demonstrated an entirely different side of Rambert; a comic dose of light relief after the first two pieces. It also demanded very different skills from the dancers, who quickly and effectively portray character sketches of various creatures. Davies’ choreography involved the mimicry not just of the animals but of the musical instruments representing them also; leaving us to wander out of the Hippodrome with happy memories of graceful cello-playing swans or a playful woodwind birds – almost as exhausted as the dancers after this rich three-course feast of dance. Awesome stuff.
- Fiona Handscomb
Until 4th April
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