English National Ballet return to the Sadler’s Wells stage with a triple bill, Rhythm Riot. This programme places a classic Balanchine piece alongside new works by Micaela Taylor and Jae Man Joo.
It’s an evening of contrast, grace, and technique. The Balanchine Symphony in Three Movements, with music by Stravinsky, is performed without tutus or frills. The dancers are clad in leotards designed by Karinska. There is a symmetry in the ballet as dancers line the side of the stage or affect a call-and-response routine.
In Taylor’s Bow Out, the inspiration comes from jazz clubs, soul, and the Lindy Hop. Music by Tru mixes with a section of “Get Happy”. An opening duet is directly inspired by the Nicholas Brothers, two black dancers who made it big in Hollywood. Later, tap, vocal shouts, finger clicks and a pantomime at the microphone offer comment on racism and visibility, and a sense of growth and confidence.
Then, Auguries of Innocence strips things right back – almost literally with the flesh coloured costumes in the 3rd scene. With Pateris Vasks’s music bookending the piece, and a recording of the Venerable Gogeum Sunim’s pulsing drums, this segment draws out issues of humanity and mortality.
ENB’s artistic director, Aaron S Watkin, describes this programme as being threaded together by rhythm itself, albeit of different kinds. The modernism of the Sumphony with its intensity and clarity; the physical, pulsating groove of Bow Out; the spirituality and introspection of Auguries.
I found the Balanchine piece intriguing. It has no storyline and no centre, instead relying on the dancers to react to the music, wherever he has placed them.
It has a rich elegance from the opening moment of 16 women posing diagonally through the athleticism and individualism of moments where different couples embrace their different choreography.
In developing a language of dance that is clearly deeply technical and demanding, Balanchine created a vibrant, vital classic.
For Bow Out, Taylor mixes a variety of styles from hip-hop to ballet, inspired by the Nicholas Brothers’ “Jumpin’ Jive” back in 1943. Charismatic and creative, and just a bit outside a white person’s comfort zone, Fayard and Harold were adventurous, bold, and experimental.
Taylor’s dancers, led by the two duetting couples of Jaime Almaraz Balzan and Thiago Silva, Gustavo Carvalho and Thalina Chapin, are bold and dynamic. At one point they all lie prone on the floor, belly-flopped like fish thrown out of water. At another, they freeze frame, challenging you to catch up and process what you have seen.
In Joo’s Auguries of Innocence, the Weaver of Souls (Sangeun Lee), inspired by Blake’s poem, takes nature and art forward into an exploration of how humans have mistreated animals.
His choreography is precise, cautious, and pure. The themes may be cruel but Thomas Mika’s set and costumes offer a sense of the terrible beauty of the world.
Dancers who make an impact across the evening include Swanice Luong, Daniel McCormick, and Emma Hawes in Symphony, Noam Durand in Bow Out, Gareth Haw and Ken Saruhashi in Auguries.
I’m giving the evening as a whole 4 stars.
Rhythm Riot, with Maria Seletskaja conducting the English National Ballet Philharmonic, is at Sadler’s Wells until 3 Oct.
Photo credit: ASH