There's a reason why Phoenix was my contemporary company of the year

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Phoenix Dance Theatre, Mixed Programme, West Yorkshire Playhouse, 8 Feb 2017, 19:30

In Terpsichore Titles: Contemporary Company of 2016 31 Dec 2016 I chose Phoenix Dance Theatre as my contemporary dance company of the year. I wrote:

"I've seen a lot of contemporary dance this year: the National Dance Company of Wales and BalletLorent in Huddersfield (see Cambriophilia 19 March 2016 and BalletLorent 3 Oct 2016), Rambert at the Lowry (see Red Hot Rambert 1 Oct 2016) the Royal Ballet's Wayne McGregor triple bill at Covent Garden (see McGregor Triple Bill 18 Nov 2016) and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Nederlands Dans Theater 2 at the Bradford Alhambra (see Prickling - NDT2 in Bradford 1 May 2016 and Alvin Ailey in Bradford 29 Sept 2016) and the Lowry (see NDT2 at the Lowry 24 April 2016 and Alvin Ailey in Salford 8 Oct 2016). But for me, 2016 was the year of Phoenix."

There were three reasons for my choice:  its massive contribution to the culture of Leeds over the last 36 years, its creative genius which generates ever more impressive new work and its outreach work for young people everywhere but especially in Leeds and the North East.

Those three strands came together on the opening night of Phoenix's new tour which begins its 2017 season with performances in Leeds, Durham, Oldham and Edinburgh (see "What's On" on the company's website). The evening began with Calyx. a new work by Sandrine Monin demonstrating Phoenix's creative genius and propensity to create ever more impressive new work, Douglas Thorpe's Beast, a work from Phoenix's recent past and NightLife at the Flamingo, one of its earliest works, celebrating the company's past, present and future.

"Calyx" is a botanical term meaning "the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud." The calyces, in this case, were a number of boxes each containing a dancer representing a flower. And the flowers? Well, they allude to Baudelaire's anthology, Fleurs du mal which inspired both choreographer and composer, Roberto Busconi. I had seen a preview of Calyx in the studio before Christmas (see Calyx 8 Dec 2016).  In the last paragraph of that article I wrote:

"Even in a rehearsal studio Calyx was quite enthralling. In a theatre it will be breathtaking."

And so it was. Emma James's costumes instantly put me in mind of the illustration of the front cover of the first edition of the book which I reproduced in my write-up of the preview. Luke Haywood's lighting enhanced the sense of foreboding. The dancers were the same as in the preview: Sam Vaherlehto. Carmen Vazquez-Marfil, Prentice Whitlow and Natalie Alleston. Not an easy work to digest but compelling to watch and hauntingly beautiful.

Thorpe's Beast was first staged in 2009, not long after Sharon Warson became the company's artistic director. In a contemporaneous video, Sharon described it as her first challenge. She acknowledged the work's robustness, its rawness, its quality yet still struggled with it wondering how, if at all, it fitted into Phoenix's repertoire. But the company did accept the work and it has strengthened them.  The work is about the rage that bubbles below each of us. Very topical with Trump and Brexit. A disturbing work. Uncontrolled hysterical laughter from Vasquez-Marfil. Wild explosions of movement from other dancers, Alleston, Monin, Vaherlehto, Prentice and Carlos J Martinez, the artist I had introduced as "Carlos" in my preview of Calyx. The score, a medley of work by Ben Frost, Matt Davignon, Aes Dana, Jaydev Mistry and Tam Tam, was skilfully selected and arranged. Once again, Haywood's lighting was in the old sense (that is to say not in the Hackneyed sense that it is used nowadays) awesome.

Th human spirit can only take so much beast and mal in one evening and NightLife at the Flamingo came as a blessed relief.  This was first staged in 1983 and shows the company at its very best. It opens with a single dancer to Gershwin's Summertime. Dressed as a waiter he opens the bar. Other dancers follow. The women in floral dresses or full-multicoloured skirts which must have been such fun to wear, Each of them performs a solo or party piece - one of the men pretending to be drunk helped to his feet by a waiter - cartwheeling and somersaulting girls. A party on stage, at one point, quite literally as the cast fanned into the stalls inviting audience members to join them on stage. The performers were drawn from three generations of Phoenix. Every member of the present company. Its veterans: Hughie Davies, Seline Derrick, Donald Edwards, David Hughes and Edward Lynch. And last but not least, kids from the Phoenix Youth Academy, stars of the future. A euphoric piece finishing in flowers for Sharon and ecstatic applause. One of my best evenings in the theatre. Ever.

I left the theatre floating 4 feet in the air. Mainly because it was such a good show. But partly because it is from the region in which I live. Phoenix started in Leeds. It is anchored in Leeds. Its dancers come from across the world. It is receptive to influences from everywhere. But it has never forgotten its origins. That's a source of pride.

Terpsichore Titles: Contemporary Company of 2016

(c) 2016 Jane Lambert
All rights reserved

I've seen a lot of contemporary dance this year:  the National Dance Company of Wales and BalletLorent in Huddersfield (see Cambriophilia 19 March 2016 and BalletLorent  3 Oct 2016), Rambert at the Lowry (see Red Hot Rambert 1 Oct 2016) the Royal Ballet's Wayne McGregor triple bill at Covent Garden (see McGregor Triple Bill 18 Nov 2016) and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Nederlands Dans Theater 2 at the Bradford Alhambra (see Prickling - NDT2 in Bradford 1 May 2016 and Alvin Ailey in Bradford 29 Sept 2016) and the Lowry (see NBT2 at the Lowry 24 April 2016 and Alvin Ailey in Salford 8 Oct 2016). But for me, 2016 was the year of Phoenix.

It is 35 years since David Hamilton, Donald Edwards and Vilmore James founded Phoenix Dance Theatre in Leeds.  As the tour page on the company's website put it:

"From small beginnings in inner-city Leeds, Phoenix Dance Theatre has grown to be one of the UKs leading contemporary dance companies."

The company has some of my favourite dancers such as Carmen Vazquez Marfil, Sandrine Monin, Sam Vaherlehto, Vanessa Vince-Pang and Prentice Whitlow. It also has in its artistic director, Sharon Watson,  an excellent choreographer and it has just commissioned for the first time a work from one of its own dancers (see Calyx 8 Dec 2016).

As I said in Phoenix's 35th Anniversary Tour 18 Feb 2016:

"Phoenix contributes much to the cultural life of the North of England and the nation not only through its performances but also by its educational and outreach work which includes workshops on tour, academies for young people in Leeds and the North East and schools partnerships. The statistics are impressive. According to the programme for yesterday's performance there were 641 workshops engaging 2,379 young people in Leeds between 2014 and 2015 and a further 228 engaging 1,360 young persons outside the city with a total audience of 91,128."

The "performance" to which I referred was a celebration of Phoenix's 35th anniversary at the West Yorkshire Playhouse on 17 Feb 2016 with Sharon Watson's Melt, Kate Flatt's Undivided Loves and Itzik Galili's Until.With/Out.Enough.  It was a very special evening.

For all these reasons Phoenix Dance Theatre is my contemporary company for 2016.

Calyx

Book cover design by Charles Meunier
Source Wikipedia

Phoenix Dance Theatre, Calyx, Quarry Hill, 8 Dec 2016

When I was in my last year at school I discovered that the University of St. Andrews ran an examination for those seeking scholarships, exhibitions and bursaries known as the "bursary comp".  The examination took place in March over several days during which time the candidates were housed in one of the halls of residence. I entered the competition thinking it would be good experience for the Oxbridge exams which were due to take place later that year. To my great surprise (and even greater surprise of that of my teachers and parents) I was awarded a Harkness Scholarship of £100 a year which was a very generous sum in 1968. I fell in love with St Andrews during the week of the bursary comp and took up my award the following October rather than try Oxbridge in October which was probably the wisest thing I ever did.

The reason I mention all this is that candidates had to show a measure of proficiency in a modern language and I chose French. There was a literature paper and the syllabus covered late 19th century poets who are hardly ever read in this country, Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Verlaine. One of the books I had to read was Les Fleurs du mal which contained poems written in a most beautiful metre but whose language made no sense to me whatsoever. Nearly 50 years later I have encountered Baudelaire again but in the much more agreeable context of a preview of a new dance piece by Sandrine Monin called Calyx which is inspired by Baudelaire.

The preview took place at 16:30 today to an invited audience in one of Phoenix Dance Theatre's studios at Quarry Hill in Leeds.  The company's artistic director, Sharon Watson,  introduced Sandrine and the composer of her score, Roberto Rusconi. She explained that Calyx would be Sandrine's first work to be performed on stage and that this was the first time that she had commissioned a work from one of her company's dancers.  Each member of the audience was given a feedback form and a pencil upon which we were invited to write down our opinions on the choreography and the score.

Sharon stood aside and we saw 4 white boxes with soft canvas walls on stage. The recording started to play. One of the boxes began to move. Another showed the imprint of a hand. Then a foot appeared together with a leg rather like a sprouting shoot.  Their owner appeared to be Sam Vaherlehto. Slowly the other dancers emerged, again like vegetation.  They were Carmen Vazquez Marfil, Prentice Whitlow and Natalie Alleston. The dancers uncoiled and stretched about them reminding me briefly of Liam Scarlett's Frankenstein. They seemed to feel their way around their environment until they encountered each other. There was then a curious interaction between the two pairs of dancers which could have been love or indeed hostility. It was impossible to tell from the dancers' expressions but as it ended with the girls being stuffed into the boxes I assumed the latter.

The score contained echoes of the human voice and sounds from everyday life as well as conventional instruments. At first, I thought it was too complex and busy for the dance but, on reflection, I considered that the choreography is far from simple. The interaction between the dancers which I have just described and the question of whether the dance is an expression of love or hostility being an example.

After the performance, Sandrine and Roberto appeared to take questions.  A member of the audience congratulated the dancers to a rumble of assent.  Another asked Sandrine about costumes.  She replied that they would be dressed androgynously. She explained that Baudelaire, the source of her inspiration, used the most beautiful language to discuss the most unpleasant matter in his verse. I tried to remember whether I had felt the same when I had to read Baudelaire in preparation for the bursary comp. My recollection was blank for I found Baudelaire very difficult to understand indeed.  Translations didn't help.  They were, if anything, even more impenetrable that the original French.

The dancers presented another extract from Sandrine's piece. My impression was that it was softer, more lyrical = perhaps a little more like Ashton's Monotones which had been set to the music of the French composer Erik Satie who was born just before Baudelaire died. I wondered whether Satie could have worked for Sandrine too but, in the end, I thought she was right to commission Roberto.

We were given a minute to fill in our forms which were collected by Melody Walker. As we left the studio Melody invited us to share some Christmas fare and mingle with the other guests. I met some interesting people, the dancers Vanessa Vince-Pang, and a new recruit from Cuba whom I only know as Carlos who spoke passionately about dance and graciously acknowledged my compliments for his illustrious compatriots in this country's ballet companies. I met Janet Smith of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, the director of CAST, the new executive director of Phoenix and one of the founders of the company who gave Sandrine the most useful critique of her work that could ever be available.

Even in a rehearsal studio Calyx was quite enthralling. In a theatre it will be breathtaking. The work will premiere as part of a mixed bill on 8 Feb at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and then go on tour to Durham, Oldham and Edinburgh. I am sure the other works will be great too but it would be worthwhile coming to the show simply to see Calyx.