"I’ve worked with them since the day each of them joined the company, and since then we’ve discovered a way of working together that’s unique. In this new ballet, we reflect on our journey together, on what we’ve learnt and where we’ve arrived.”
He describes them as unique dancers: James as "very elegant and stoic, yet sensitive in his dancing" embodying a purity which is both strong and vulnerable at the same time; Edo as having "the quicksilver qualities of mercury" that "shines so brightly and moves in the most profoundly coordinated and musical way" and Joey as having "an abundant energy that appears endless" whose dancing is "incredibly organic, earthy in tone, with a deeply felt understanding of his own strength." The music for this piece is by Alex Baranowski, the sets were designed by John Otto and the costumes by Yumiko Takeshima.
I enjoyed Legacy Variations very much indeed. It exhibits the two qualities of its creator that I most admire. His adherence to the classical tradition in which he was trained and made his career as a dancer combined with a willingness to innovate. Although I had seen several of his work before I recognized those qualities for the first time when I saw his Sawn Lake for Scottish Ballet in Liverpool (see Empire Blanc: Dawson's Swan Lake 4 June 2016). This is a work that I long to see again and I would have seen its revival in 2020 had it not been for the lockdown. Legacy Variations reminded me why I am a Dawson fan. It is a very short work. For me, it was over almost as soon as it started. I could have watched it all afternoon. Having said that it must have required prodigious strength, stamina and concentration from Stout, Wijnen and Massarelli though they made it look effortless and aetherial.
The Four Seasons is a longer work based on Max Richter’s arrangement of the well-known work by Vivaldi. This is a work for 16 dancers: Jingjing Mao, Jakob Feyferlik, Yuanyuan Zhang, Martin ten Kortenaar, Jessica Xuan, Sho Yamada, Mila Nicolussi Caviglia, Connie Vowles, Arianna Maldini, Luiza Bertho, Inés Marroquin, Conor Walmsley, Jan Spunda, Daniel Montero Real, Davi Ramos and Rémy Catalan. I have followed the careers of many of those dancers from the day they joined the Junior Company and it gives me enormous pleasure to see them in major roles. I am particularly proud of my compatriot Conor Walmley who comes from the same county as Kevin O'Hare, Xander and Demelza Parish and a less well-known but abundantly talented favourite, Beth Meadway. I was thrilled to learn that one of Powerhouse Ballet's guest ballet mistresses once taught Walmsley (and also me despite the gigantic chasm of age and talent between us).
This is another ballet that displays Dawson's classicism and innovation in abundance. The music, particularly Isabelle van Keulen's violin playing, was enchanting. Equally captivating were Eno Henze's simple geometric shapes representing the seasons - a green triangle for Spring, a red rectangle for Summer and a golden circle at the end and so on - that subtly changed position and lighting throughout the show. These were complemented by Takeshima's costume designs. Again, I could have watched it for hours. The artists were rewarded with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
This has been an annus mirabilis with such highlights as Like Water for Chocolate and Mayerling from the Royal Ballet, the Van Manen festival from HNB and Mthuthuzeli November's Wailers for Northern, but I wrote on this blog's Facebook page that I had an inkling that Dawson would be special. I was not wrong.
