Northern Ballet’s
Mixed Programme, Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House
Northern Ballet is known for storytelling, and last night’s
programme mostly lived up to this reputation. The Mixed Programme too lived up
to its name: the five ballets designed by five choreographers each told a different
story.
Angels in the Architecture – Mark Godden’s Shaker-inspired choreography
to Aaron Copeland’s Appalachian Spring (which includes the song ‘Lord of the
Dance’) – featured six couples, with brooms and chair as props. The girls’ flowing
circle dresses were particularly lovely – pretty, elegant and used to great
effect choreographically as the dancers pulled them over their heads in
different ways and I loved the creative use of the Shaker chair which had
apparently inspired the piece. Personally, I wasn’t too sure about the brooms –
I understand the motif, but there were a couple of times where they seemed to
confuse the pattern of movement.
Christopher Hampson’s Perpetuum Mobile to Bach’s violin
concerto in E Major was a beautiful classical piece which did not have a clear
narrative – at least not one that I could discern – but followed the patterns
of the music. I liked the way the dancers’ skill and dynamism brought this set
piece to life as they leapt joyfully across the stage.
After the first interval, Little Monsters offered a complete
change of tone with Dreda Blow and Isaac Lee-Baker doing marvellous things with
Demis Volpi’s choreography. This was a fresh, innovative interpretation of
Elvis Presley’s music, about as far away stylistically from 1950s cliché as you
could get. I thought it worked
perfectly, making the most of the dancers’ exquisite physiques and energy. The
theme was a love story, told in three songs, and it was both entertaining and
emotive. I can still picture the resonant simplicity of ‘Are you Lonesome
Tonight?’ with the two dancers who had been so closely entangled and engrossed
with each other in the first two songs – ‘Love me Tender’ and ‘I want you, I
need you, I love you’ – standing apart, each in their own spotlight.
A Northern Trilogy was perfect too, in a different way, offering
a sensitive and entertaining take on the company’s northern roots, with
Jonathan Watkins’ clever and cute interpretation of Stanley Holloway’s monologues,
‘Yorkshire Pudden’, ‘One-Each-A –Piece All Round’ and ‘The Lion and Albert'. As
well as the dancers’ accomplished and enthusiastic performance and the straightforward
storylines overlaying some deeper themes, the costumes and lighting accentuated
the bitter-sweet sentimentality of these pieces. Yorkshire Pudden was lit in a
way that suggested a sepia photograph, while the fresh brightness of ‘The Lion
and Albert’ evoked images of the mid-20th century seaside holiday
and managed to include humour without descending into pantomime. Everyone in the auditorium was smiling – the
programme had been designed with a sweet centre.
The final and most ambitious piece was Kenneth Tindall’s The
Architect. This was highly original – and dazzling. I hardly know where to
start. It was also the most obscure narrative of the programme, a cryptic
version of the biblical creation scene with Adam and Eve – well, multiple Adams
and Eves and a few pounds of apples. A beautiful opening sequence with what seemed
to be Adam and Eve chasing a single apple set the scene for a dramatic sequence
around birth and creation. There then followed a complex sequence involving several
apples being passed mouth-to-mouth between the dancers while Adam had his own apple
routine. This was certainly different, but I was a bit distracted from the
tango-like ambiance by all the apples. In the final sequences a single apple,
this time suspended above the dancers, provided a focal point for some clever
and quite acrobatic group sequences enhanced by darker lighting design. Personally,
I preferred the sections where there was just one apple in play, as it were.
I may have picked at a couple of details, but I was hugely
impressed. It was a pretty tall order to create a contemporary ballet that
balanced biblical narrative with biological symbolism and it looked amazing and the demanding choreography
showcased the dancers’ extreme athleticism and flexibility. It also showed what
an excellent company Northern Ballet are, particularly in the group sequences that
expanded and contracted around the single, suspended apple. There were also some
wonderful partner and individual pieces.
This was my first experience of Northern Ballet and I will
definitely find opportunities to see them again. I love their originality,
their clear identity and the way their work can be appreciated on multiple
levels. I felt that their excellent dancing spoke for itself and didn’t need
embellishing with complex staging. Having said that, it would be interesting to
see The Architect performed in a bigger space.
Further Reading
10 May 2015
Between Friends - Northern Ballet's Mixed Programme (The Mixed Programme in Leeds)
