It’s sold out, had rave reviews across the country, and last night we managed to see what everyone is gaggling about. Birmingham Opera Company’s Othello is a stunning example of audience integration into a show which draws on the diversity of dance talent from the region.

Trombones brush up for Act 3. Photo: Pete Aston

The show runs until 19 December and we don’t want to spoil it for new audiences (join our debate about whether online content ruins or enhances viewing here) but since the production restored the Act 3 ballet bringing together a range of dancers in an enormous display we thought we’d review the dance section.

Kashmir Leese has already documented on his blog how he has worked alongside choreographers Ron Howells and Jen Irons on the production. The dance sequence appears after  Othello has raped Desdemona, convinced of her infidelity with Casio by the appearance of the symbolic handkerchief, and the mood is one of impending terror (initiated from the start by the bomb-strapped actors moving with intent through the nervous crowd).

By this time the audience is used to the action taking place around them, but the dance spectacle is spread across the long wall of the Argyle warehouse allowing viewers to sit down and take in the movement. Seven Birmingham-based dance groups take part, dancing alongside each other in circular pockets, including dancers from Chakdeh Punjab Bhangra, Hamstead, Independent Dance, Matthew Bolton College, Smash Bro’z, Allstars and Green Man’s Morris.

The effect is magnificent. Never before have such a diverse collection of dance styles been performed alongside each other to give a mosiac picture of dance from groups across the region. Smash Bro’z stand out with their polished fusion of streetdance styles – set beautifully against Verdi’s ballet score. All dancers are wearing white boiler suits which strips the diverse dance styles down the the bare bones which adds to the overall effect. When you look down the hall, with all dance groups performing their set pop routines next to morris next to hip hop next to bhangra, it is a wonderful presentation of local talent in tunneled vision.

Jen Irons has already commented how bringing the groups together was no easy task – creating a few wrinkles at the first few rehearsals – but the vision and the music has delivered the end product. The sequence ends with all groups joining in a simple routine to bring the audience into the next segment of Othello’s public condemnation of Desdemona up on the balcony with the orchestra flanked by the chorus.

The entire show is one to fill you with pride for Birmingham’s vision and ability to bring talent from all areas together to produce an overwhelming night of novel entertainment. If you can wangle tickets in any way

If you’re still wondering whether or not it’s OK to start feeling festive, think no more: Christmas officially starts with the opening night of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s The Nutcracker.

Attending the yearly rendition is a tradition every family should fit into their advent calender – dressing in your winter best for a nippy trip to the bustling Hippodrome to be greeted by Birmingham school choirs singing carols cannot fail to fill you with warmth and excitement.

Carol-Anne Millar as Clara; Photo Bill Cooper

Friday night’s performance was another example of how Birmingham’s much-loved ballet company consistently deliver a production which can both delight ballet newcomers and keep young families gripped, while adding new twists and stage antics to please the ballet veterans.

The choreography based on Sir Peter Wright’s production with the company nearly 20 years ago just after it had moved from Sadler’s Wells, is light-footed and peppered with enchanting duets – the crisp movements and large corps de ballet pieces are visual treats which the company dance with effortless precision and ease.

This year’s designs by John Macfarlane are moody in luxe rouges and Victorian styles – giving a darker edge to the story of a magician who takes young Clara from her family Christmas to an unknown world of international sweets and dreamy illusion. The opening scene feels a little dated and drab, but this lack of exuberance is a deliberate precursor to The Transformation scene.

The audience needs to leave the dull reality of the living room and be transported to the Drosselmeyer’s world of imaginary wonder – this is marked famously on stage by the growth of the Christmas tree to 50ft to make Clara appear Borrower-sized – executed superbly by the 50-strong team backstage in a crescendo of objects being magnified. Finally, the fireplace looms as a huge burning furnace and the comedy motorised rats are replaced by human-sized hairy menaces dressed exquisitely in court armour. The transformation is complete, and as the cannonball cracks to the musical climax to audience erupts in excited applause.

The production capitalises on the audience’s hunger for acrobatic tricks and visual pyrotechnics. After the interval, the curtain rises to Clara flying 60ft through the air on the back of a goose, greeted by another wave of applause. Carol-Anne Miller dances Clara with vitality and verve – portraying the child in love as a woman in awe of Dr Drosselmeyer’s creations. The darker side to the story is revealed by Robert Parker as the suave magician, adding a layer of potential love for the girl, who when stripped of her nightgown by the rats reveals the vulnerability of her virgin innocence. This deeper insight into the story injects the production with human detail to turn the Christmas classic into an all-rounded ballet which not only pleases the eye but the mind.

Nao Sakuma as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Chi Cao as the Prince; photo: Steve Hanson

Every little girl will long to be the Sugar Plum Fairy, the grand pas de deux danced to perfection by Nao Sukuma and princely Chi Cao (above). Accompanied by the magical score by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker is the must-see show of the season and a festive treat for all generations.

The Nutcracker returns to its home theatre, Birmingham Hippodrome, for 22 performances only, from Friday 27 November to Sunday 13 December 2009. To book tickets or to find out more visit Birmingham Royal Ballet’s website or www.birminghamhippodrome.com.

Anyone who thinks ballet is an art reserved for tutus, prancing and trite old fashioned fairytales, be prepared to be challenged. Matthew Bourne, for those of you who don’t know, is a world-renowned choreographer who’s sole aim is to smash archaic connotations of ballet (you might remember him for grabbing headlines with his all-male Swan Lake), push boundaries in dance and create innovative new works to attract mainstream audiences.

Bourne’s hitlist so far includes Play Without Words and Edward Scissorhands, and his latest work for his company New Adventures, a stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s lurid tale A Picture of Dorian Gray, comes to Birmingham Hippodrome for one week only and is well worth the trip to find out how traditional images of dance are being replaced with something far more vibrant and exciting.

Richard Winsor as Dorian and Michela Meazza as Lady H

Even in Wilde’s day, the novel wasn’t for the faint hearted. The tale of lust, murder and debauchery in the quest for eternal youth did a little more than raise eyebrows after its publication in 1890. Bourne takes Dorian Gray out of the 19th century courtroom of the novel, and places the entire story in a contemporary setting. The effect is a visual pastiche of modern society. The plot works uncannily well its revised form – no doubt down to Bourne’s brilliant ability to tell a good story.

Dorian, the London socialite, becomes the latest underwear pin-up, for Lady H (a replacement for Lord Henry) – the editor of a fashion magazine. Basil Hallward the painter is transformed into a photographer, and Sybil Vane the actress becomes a man, Cyril. These sex changes for central characters alter the dimensions of the web of sexual fantasy which ensues and make for a most entertaining romp and dark tale of one man’s self-destruction.

Dorian and Basil in the photography scene

Richard Winsor returns to play Dorian with predatory hunger mixed with infectious charm. His character is built by those around him, and Bourne demonstrates his trademark ability to construct a series of superb male duets. The first pas de deux between Dorian and Basil, played this year with less slease by Jason Piper, is an exemplary display of impressive lifts and curling floor sequences in which Bourne shows how two male bodies can interweave in ways never seen before. This is when Dorian first feels the pleasure of being in the limelight, and the photographs captured by Basil are projected onto the white wall behind, giving us a new perspective of the protagonist. We see Dorian through Basil’s lense and are just as enchanted by his beauty as he is.

Dorian, it may appear to the audience, is game for anything. His poster-boy fame takes him to the polished world of parties, drugs and smart suits. Soon the glaze of the gaze takes his toll on the young socialite and – true to the story – the reality of his torment and corruption don’t reveal themselves in his appearance until the finale.

In many ways Wilde was ahead of his time, and the fact his story reflects something of modern society is a testament to his great perceptions. But it is also Bourne’s genius which allows this time-old fable to tell us something new about the way we live – and allow contemporary ballet to be satirical.

Dorian is the object of fame and in the spotlight. In a world in part dictated by paparazzi hoarding, celebrity and where the public are fascinated by their idols and even more entranced by watching them crumble – the story couldn’t be ever more relevant.

Dorian revels in his newfame and a fan takes a picture of their phone

The production débuted at Edinburgh Festival last year. In its revival for this year’s tour Bourne has made a few minor touches which only enhance the audience’s experience.

The revolving centre partition allows for clever set changes and builds pace between scenes – we move easily from Dorian’s bedroom to the reception of White Box Media to a club night with a Damian Hurst-esque disco ball. The momentum between sets increases the impact of the dancers – their voguish statement poses hitting a strong note of blind pretension and conscious self-parody.

There is an underlining tone of humour throughout the ballet. When Dorian is transformed from waiter to pin-up he receives an applause from Monday night’s audience – who clearly recognise this as a ‘makeover’ scene from reality TV and are delighted at how it is replicated on stage by the blue-gloved sunglass-clad dancers to the ticking music. Later, spectators will also be familiar with the chat-show host who greets Dorian on stage with three-puffs and a piano. It’s this witty interplay with the current which makes the entire ballet so attractive to a mass audience. Indeed Bourne acknowledges that scenes of rape and murder can be evermore powerful in dance than on television, but his injection of a dark reality into ballet is what makes his work fresh and revolutionary. Stand Dorian Gray next to all the ballets ever made and you won’t find anything like it.

Dorian Gray runs at Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday 14 November. Bookings for evening and matinee performances. Contact the box office for tickets by calling 0844 338 5000 or visiting their website.

Balbir Singh Dance Company in Trespass. Photo: Stephen Berkeley

What happens when you see contemporary dance collide with traditional North Indian Kathak dance? Balbir Singhs Dance Company was set up to explore the very answer to that question – teaching six trained contemporary dancers in the ancient art of Kathak in just nine months. He avoids words like ‘fusion’ and ‘merging’ of dance styles –instead choosing ‘synthesis’ and ‘collision’. What this dance will look like on stage drew in a packed-out audience on Thursday night’s performance of his latest works – TRESPASS at The Patrick Centre, Birmingham – following the success of his début PLAY OF PERCENTAGES.

The opening scene of the dance is full of promise. Accompanied on stage by tabla, guitar, keys and wind instruments, the five astute dancers glide in slow motion towards the front of the stage introducing us to this very unique style which is full of intrigue. But once the novelty of the choreography has taken hold, Balbir Singh fails to propel intricate movements to the next level of producing an engaging performance.

The movement itself is part of the inhabitation. Elements from each dance style appear hand-picked – the flat hands, wide pliés, and butterfly wrist curls of Kathak combined with loose heads, high releases, and parallel devlopés from contemporary ballet. Balbir’s refusal to truly blend the styles comes at the price of each step appearing overly structured and jigsawed together. It is even possible to mark out different areas of the body moving in accordance with each style. Contemporary legs and back; Kathak hands, feet and arms.

At times the choreography is powerful and arresting – danced exquisitely by Stephanie Elstob and Hian Ruth Voon. But the slow progression of the dance along with its studied repetition can make precise lines appear restrictive and the whole choreography overbearing. With unimaginative costumes and lighting, there is little else to tempt the audience.

Trespass, we are told, is about dancers and musicians encroaching on each other’s space – but there is no contact between dancers or engagement with the musicians. At one moment a dancer flashes a cheeky eye to Shahbaz Hussain on tabla, giving us a snippet of how more expression could transform the dance. Indeed, Balbir’s preoccupation with the mathematics of the lines and gestures seems to have stripped the dance of any expression at all. The poker-faced dancers don’t give anything away. While the music might suggest threat, passion or pain – their faces remain bright and blank.

It is Balbir’s original piece, Play of Percentages, which demonstrates his ability to inject variation and vivacity into his choreography – with dancers breaking out of the rigid structures of the first piece – travelling and spinning across the floor. The tabla and guitar work well with the movements here and Elstob’s solo is gripping. This piece shows what the company could do if the two styles were let loose on stage. It was a shame the younger people in the audience were put off by the first half as not to return for this fresher, livelier piece.

When two members of Vincent Dance Theatre walk onto the stage at the beginning of their performance and say slowly “No more dancing,” you think they are joking. They are not. What proceeds is at best an insight into the motivations people need to keep on going, and at worst an assault on the audience’s belief that any dancing will be involved at all.

But the first sketch is laugh-out-loud funny – with Patrycja Kujawska and Aurora Lubos reciting a manifesto of things their dance shall not be  - no more knee-jerks, no more classical music, no more clichés…after this one, no more sexual politics, no more internal rhythms…

The list is an outright attack on what have become abstract conventions of contemporary dance – the norm for dance companies, and expectations from the audience. Accompanied by the rock-pumping track ‘Hate to say I told you so,’ by The Hives, the opening is full of brilliance and promise.

But the skit consciously oversteps the mark – the list is too long, the dancers’ shouts become irritating and the loud music becomes unbearable. This sets the tone for what is a totally unconventional dance piece.

Vincent Dance Theatre have taken a step beyond their once quirky, deliciously physical displays of raw-talent – and given us an indefinable piece of theatrical confusion called If We Go On, performed last night at DanceXchange. It’s not dance, it’s not even really a show. Six people stumble around the stage – sometimes they move, sometimes they just stand there staring – sometimes someone is talking, and sometimes there is silence. The only piece of continuity comes form a beautifully played cello, and the nine overhanging light bulbs – which dancers intermittently turn on and off with their feet.

The disjointed monologues describe dancers feeling like they can no longer go on – the glare of the audience becoming too much. Each story is another tale of trying at something and failing, never quite hitting the mark, and the prospect of reality on stage.

The montage is difficult to sit through – with elongated pauses which at first gave room for contemplation, and then feel stifling and arbitrary. But Vincent Dance Theatre know what they’re doing – their finale is a harmonised song including the words “What on earth are we doing here. Who let us loose on the stage,” and Kujawska confesses the company is “past it” and they know the show is “no good.” So we can’t argue with them – we both know it’s not what we want.

Vincent Dance Theatre perform If We Go On tonight at The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome. See DannceXchange’s website for more details.

The Triple Bill at The Patrick Centre, DanceXchange, on Friday 2 October showcased three performances from West Midlands-based talent…and turned out to be a night full of promise for the region’s future in contemporary dance.

Table Football Club – WHO ARE YOU WATCHING?

When the audience arrived in their seats ready for the dance performance they’d come for, they shuffled uncomfortably as two women announced at the front they were going to do some market research and it would only take a few minutes. But it soon emerged what Kate Mason and Claire Cunningham were actually doing at the beginning of Friday night’s Triple Bill at the DanceXchange, was introducing their own performance –which is founded on the view of the audience.

They asked questions such as “which is the right version,” and “which do you find aesthetically pleasing,” followed by each dancer performing the same move and the audience voting for A or B. But there’s something I should probably mention about this piece, a work in progress which started at Dancebase, Edinburgh – Claire is on crutches.

After the ‘question/answer’ session was over, Claire and Kate took to the floor. Your eyes were immediately drawn to Claire’s unique interpretation of the dance, her own movement vocabulary – the variety of her shapes and fluidity of starchy movements which were immediately more appealing than Kate’s comparative plain contemporary dancing.

But the performers once again broke the fourth wall – and began a conversation with each other about who the audience would be watching while they were dancing. The piece was full of self-awareness and was undeniably funny – turning preconceived ideas of what the audience find appealing to the eye on their head. Kate Mason’s piece is an assertive glare-eyed gaze at the audience itself – challenging our perceptions about dance, conventions in contemporary and making fun of the elephant in the room – or in this case the penguin.

www.clairecunningham.co.uk

LAURA DREDGER DANCE COMPANY – UNTITLED

Laura Dredger’s quiet, contemplative piece continued a theme of self-conscious dancing. Occupying a square of white light, her precise, tender movements were both measured and mesmerising.

The tone of the dance resonated with sadness. Laura drew a series of perfect lines in the air with flat hands at different levels, punctuated by swift round arm circles and slow lunges.

Laura spends much of the dance with her back to the audience – which offers a new perspective and increases the feeling introversion. But to be truly captivating, the piece needed more variety in pace and changes in dynamic and travelling across the floor.

At 28, this Laban-trained dancer is full of promise – her choreography is special, making you want to contain it and take it home. Although this piece was clearly suited to a solo, a group dance might be the next step.

KENEISH DANCE COMPANY – ME 2 YOU

The presence Keisha Grant maintains on stage – from start to finish- is what marks her out in this triple bill as an exceptional dancer. This piece, her first choreography for a duet with herself and Sean Graham – draws out the best of both dancers, and this young West-Midlands born talent is the one to watch.

The dance explores the potentially sexually but possibly platonic relationship between two people – starting with the two in ying-yang foetal positions sliding slowly across the floor. The moment feels tender and childlike – drawing the audience into a private moment. The entire dance continues in this manner – with soft embraces and beautifully lined counter-balances – you feel like you are witnessing something otherwise reserved for two people.

Set to Thapelo Knomo’s African drumming, the middle section of the dance erupts with the utterly expansive range of styles. Keisha mixes heel-hitting tap steps, circular contemporary leaps and low-stance jenga sequences from capoeira. The African diaspora influence shines through the choreography with playful dance conversations between the couple. Sean Graham’s hip hop and breakdance background adds a fresh feel to compliment Keisha’s training – but his form has less technical precision than her expressive movements, and if they are to dance together again they will need more practise to get used to each other’s bodies and timing.

www.keneishdance.com

What do you get when you add some swash-buckling sword fighting, a blind priest and a heart-wrenching love story? A great ballet by David Bintley.

Elisha Willis as Roxane and Iain Mackay as Christian photo by Bill Cooper

Bintley’s Cyrano has hit the Birmingham stage once more, and after critical acclaim for its relaunch in 2007, this production does not fail to please the audience of 2009.

The first essential ingredient is an impeccable story – based on the French 19th century play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, Bintley transforms the essentials of the complicated plot to the ballet stage – a fair feat, requiring a heavy dose of mime. In a nutshell, Cyrano is a charming fellow who has been dealt an unfortunate hand by mother nature in the form of a grossly unattractive large nose. He makes up for this defect, however, by having a huge heart, unbeatable sword action and gift with words. He soon realises he’ll never be able to capture the attention of the most sought after girl in town – Roxane – but decides to help young Christian win her heart by a series of love letters and poems – written by Cyrano but signed by Christian.

And here is the crux of Bintley’s ballet – the poetry from Rostand’s play must be translated into dance – cue Carl Davis’ beautiful score. Without the repeated string phrase which symbolises Cyrano’s penned odes to Roxanne, much of the sentiment from the original play would be lost. Combine this with impressive set designs by Hayden Griffin and superb dancing from the principals in the company and you have a night of unparalleled entertainment.

Robert Parker, on whom Cyrano was created, could not bring more expression and depth to his character, and in dancing terms is in a league of his own. While maintaining excellent technique, Parker gives Cyrano a layered narrative – letting the audience see his gracious and tender heart, alongside the cocky facade he puts on for his pals. The characterisation can make Christian, danced by Iain Mackay, seem more one-dimensional and the duet between himself and Roxane – Elisha Willis – lack the passion and emotion reserved for her dances with Parker. Bintley’s daring choreography showcases Willis’s perfect jetées and some trademark double-loop dipping lifts. She brings a wholesomeness to her character, required to let the audience feel she deserves Cyrano’s love and the intricate mime sequences from all three main characters propel the ballet from start to finish.

Aside from the tender love story there are some truly memorable moments from the rest of the corps de ballet. Notably a mock-Rose adagio from Sleeping Beauty danced by four flexed-footed male cooks, a scene where Cyrano pretends to be an alien with a lampshade on his head to stall Roxanne’s ill-willed suitor, and a number of captivating all-male ensemble dances. Bintley balances the romance with humour to make the tragedy complete and move you from laughter to tears.

Some elements of the stage management do distract from the focus of the dancing – including some over-elaborate pyrotechnics, long interuptions for scene changes and the dark puffed-sleaved puffed-trousered zorro costumes – which can detract from the dancer’s lines.

But the audience on opening night was full of bustle and excitement – and gave a roaring cheers for the cast as the curtain fell – a testament to their appreciation for all the hard work gone into the production, their love for the lead characters and, ultimately, empathy for Cyrano’s plight. Rostand’s romanticism is captured in this story of unrequited love, selflessness, and self-awareness – if only Roxane could have seen beyond that big old nose!

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cyrano runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday 3 October and will then tour to venues in Belfast, Plymouth, Sunderland and London. See BRB’s website for more details.

The opening sequence of ACE Dance and Music’s latest production ‘Switch‘ is full of energy, creativity and promise.

Six athletic dancers occupy individual squares of checkered light and the scratchy flickering-light-bulb music introduces us to a world of juts and starts – with throwing limbs and menacing stares to the audience forming the staple of this new collaboration of choreography from artistic director of the company Gail Permel and Andile Sotiya.

Photo: Graeme Braidwood

But as the dance progresses this channelled energy becomes repetitive, and while there are truly brilliant individual movements, the unrelenting fast pace of the dance means these moments are missed. Though the programme tells us the piece is about a switchboard – with the dancers passing on power between each other – something of the motivation behind the piece seems to get lost along the way.

Yet there was something captivating about the whole piece – with some outstanding leaps by Sade Alleyne and later a beautifully soft duet by herself and Yu Yu Rau – giving some depth and fluidity to the piece.

Photo: Graeme Braidwood

The hard-hitting power sessions were interrupted by some slow walks and play between bodies and light to low bass-line reverberations. There were tribal elements to the choreography – with the low lunges with high fisted hands. More of this style filtered into the dancing would add character to the movements which at times appeared robotic.

But for a packed out audience at Solihull Arts Complex on a Tuesday night, ACE Dance and Music’s new works was a mesmerising addition to the region’s contemporary repertoire, and well worth catching up with their next performance in Birmingham on Friday 6 November at the Drum in Aston.

To view live-tweeting from the rehearsal of BRB’s Cyrano, which debuts tomorrow night Click Here.

Elisha Willis and Joseph Caley in Birmingham Royal Ballets E=mc2 - Photo Bill Cooper

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s new season has kicked off to an explosive start.

Tonight marked return of the company with two new incendiary pieces to add to the repetoire, and this launch into the new year showcased some the their best work yet.

The three-part evening commenced with the return of Stanton Welch’s Powder – a cheeky satirical number set to Mozart which sees scantily clad dancers winding around each other in an almost spoof ballet.

But the audience quietly anticipated director David Bintey’s hotly-awaited debut – E=mc². Broken into four segments, each chapter looking at an element in the relativity equation, the ‘ballet’ reaches revolutionary ground in exploring the relationship between science and dance.

ENERGY was an arena of power. The dancers exploded from each other in a variety of compositions and arrangements, and their curling hands (reminiscent of the end of Christopher Wheeldon’s Commedia) and motoring repetitions made the corps appear both mechanical and chaotic.

The atmosphere altered rapidly for MASS, where Kate Ford’s vibrant costumes in the first piece were replaced with soft hues and moody lighting. Bintley works in trios – with two males slowly lifting one female dancer and spinning them off each other like meteors twirling through space. The effect was beautiful and gave the idea of ‘mass’ a sombre sensuality.

E=mc2 - Birmingham Royal Ballet - photo: Bill Cooper

The MANHATTEN PROJECT was a brave step out from the other pieces, with a single Geisha-like figure occupying the stage to the striking backdrop of a scarlet red square on black. She moved delicately to an ear-clapping low reverberation. This jarred with the other pieces and, although powerful, seemed random.

Finally, for CELERITAS the stage was luminated with a wall of spotted lighting. Carol-Anne Miller’s light-footed nimbleness was delightful and the corps sprang across the stage to Matthew Hindson’s fast-paced score with perhaps more energy than the first piece.

Even without knowing what E=mc² stands for, audience members could not fail to know instantly something of the elements each dance aimed to replicate by Bintley’s carefully thought out movements and composition. This is surely the director’s greatest works yet, and a testament to the talent in the company that he can create such an unprecedented exploration of physics and chemistry on stage.

Bintley’s act was hard to follow, but Garry Stweart’s The Centre and its Opposite took up where Bintley left off with yet another superb new creation exploiting the company’s excellence. The heavy base beat of Huey Benjamin’s soundtrack echoed through the theatre, accented by Michael Mannion’s striking strip lighting. The choreography was physically aggressive yet attractive, hitting notes of force and power, which were particularly electric between Robert Parker and Elisha Willis.

The evening could leave any audience member feeling shell-shocked by the sheer impact of the dances before them. Bintley and Stewart’s world premiere creations are a pivotal addition to the dance world which will ultimately shape the path of ballet’s to come in the future. Their stunning choreography and big ideas will simply blow your mind away.