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Review: Du Goudron et des Plumes at the Barbican

January 31, 2011 in dance, Review | No comments

As the lights come up on this production, I was reminded of the last time I was sitting in the Barbican Theatre to see the dreadful Nearly 90, which I couldn’t even bring myself to write about considering I only sat through half of it. Again, I had booked the tickets without really knowing what this production was, as it was all part of the brilliant freeB scheme that I shall sadly no longer be able to partake in come next month. The past year I have seen absolute genius and absolute trite wankery on the Barbican Theatre stage, and as I investigated the show two days before I was worried that it may be the latter once again.

Du Goudron et des Plumes is a circus piece by Mathurin Bolze for Compagnie MPTA, and is playing at the Barbican as part of the London International Mime Festival. It’s roughly inspired by the classic novel Of Mice and Men and primarily takes place on a floating platform by five very elastic performers.

Very quickly after the floating platform rises from the stage and the performers start throwing themselves around the set, comprised of wooden planks slotted in to said platform, it becomes clear that this is fast falling into the genius category. Constantly sitting somewhere between acrobatics and dance, with some of the most amazing choreography I’ve seen (and not even in a dance piece!), Du Goudron et des Plumes keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The immensely clever use of set pieces, video and lighting are inspired. What’s more, you are constantly trying to follow the meaning behind all the action, which while never makes itself overtly clear, still remains gripping instead of falling into the trite wankery that these kind of pieces often do.

In essence, this is an exciting piece of theatre. It has all the wow factor of something like Cirque du Soleil, but with none of the pretense and what I’m guessing is a fraction of the budget. It tramples all over contemporary dance works like Nearly 90 and Come Been and Gone, without actually being a contemporary dance piece. It’s achingly beautiful and expertly performed. If only it had a longer season…

Du Goudron et des Plumes closed at the Barbican on the 29th January 2010.

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Review (of sorts): Ballet Shoes

April 26, 2010 in dance, Theatre | 2 comments

Ballet Shoes, if you didn’t know, is an extremely popular book amongst young British girls from the 1930s. It tells the story of three young orphans who have been picked up on an explorer’s travels and sent to live in his house in London. Throughout the book they learn to sing, dance and act so they can earn money as performers to support the household. The title comes from the pair of ballet shoes that arrive with the youngest, Posy. It’s a story I had never heard of until coming into this country. Reluctant to read it after having it forcibly thrust into my hands by my fiancé, I instead had it read to me, as I just couldn’t picture it with my antipodean accent in my head and instead needed a true Brit to read it to me (my best excuse yet).

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the book. It’s witty and light, and the pace is perfect for children, never dwelling on any event too long. This is why I got rather excited when said fiancé secured tickets to a staging of Ballet Shoes by Sadler’s Wells and the London Children’s Ballet (LCB). I assumed I’d be witnessing a play with dancing and music. I assumed wrong. Instead I witnessed a ballet based on the story, performed entirely by children between the ages of 9 to 15. After recovering from the initial shock and slight disappointment (the entire story isn’t about ballet), I became quite confused. I have endeavoured to review every piece of theatre, dance and cabaret I see on stage in London. I’ve so far failed twice, once with Hairspray, due to laziness, and Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, due to seeing the final performance. However, I feel slightly at odds reviewing a piece that only contains children. How can I compare the work of 30 odd children to seasoned west end performers? Instead this is a psuedo-review. What that means exactly, I’m not sure, but it puts my conscience at rest.

This is the second time LCB, having commissioned and staged the ballet in 2001. The show suffers slightly as a ballet, as the whole story isn’t about ballet and therefore one of the characters becomes the focus. Also, the dialogue in the book is brilliant and witty and would work well staged. However, despite this I thoroughly enjoyed this show. Everythe bal dancer on stage was a pleasure to watch, and there was some truly exceptional talent amongst the cast. It’s surprising to read in the program that only 50% of LCB performers go on to pursue professional dance or theatre, with 25% not even retaining dance as a hobby. I always find it a shame to see talent like that wasted, usually due to a career in arts not being seen as a serious career.

There were some exceptional performers amongst a very strong cast. The three girls who play Pauline (Laura Croom), Petrova (Lowri Shone) and Posy (Maria Gregory) were all very good dancers. Surprisingly, it was Shone, as Petrova, who was the standout of the three. In the book, Petrova is the one girl who doesn’t excel, prefering cars and aeroplanes. However, to say she was the best dancer is like picking your favourite member of the Rat Pack. They were all very good, with perfect characterisation for each girl. The other two standouts for me were the young men who played Mr Simpson (Ben Radford) and the Stage Manager. Both were exquisite to watch, with immense talent, something that was made more apparent with the gorgeous pieces of choregraphy they were given. Really, there were only one or two dancers with parts who weren’t up to the same standard as the rest of the company. Even then, these were still extremely talented dancers, especially given their age.

The fact that this show was included in the Sadler’s Wells season is a testament to the talent of these youngsters. However, it’s heartening to see a major dance company like Sadler’s Wells work with a company like LCB. Not enough large theatre companies are supporting youth arts initiatives such as this and puting them in seasons amongst the best performers in their field.

Ballet Shoes played at the Peacock Theatre from 22-25 April.

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Review: Blaze

March 22, 2010 in dance, Review, Theatre | 8 comments

Blaze at Peacock Theatre

I feel like there should be a support group for this kind of thing. I’ll start things off…

Hi, my name’s Luke and for about 10 weeks in the year I am addicted to So You Think You Can Dance.

It is because of his addiction that I went along to Peacock Theatre this weekend past to see the new offering from Sadler’s Wells and panDaddy Productions, Blaze. It’s a ‘streetdance sensation’ very much in the same style of Bounce, that took the West End by storm in 2005, and features two dancers from said reality tv show. I will admit that this last little factum is the only reason I purchased tickets, but I’m extremely glad I did.

However, on the way back to my abode I found myself in a slight quandry. Having never seen a ‘streetdance sensation’, or for that fact any modern dance show, how was I to review? How do I review something that I really have no point of reference for? Therefore, I have decided to pretend that I am an afficianado of dance. I’ve been to the ballet… Once. I own some dance pants and an aged pair of jazz slippers. I can do this.

To be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect from Blaze. I like hip hop dance as much as the next middle class white boy, but an hour and a half of it? What resulted was an hour and a half of pure entertainment. It helps that these are 16 of the best hip hop dancers and breakers currently performing. Also, they have a team of 7 choreographers from across the globe, as well as one of the top West End directors/choreographers at the helm. Add to this some of the best lighting and projection work that I’ve seen on the London stage, and it’s hard to see where they could go wrong.

The dancers were all extremely strong. it’s interesting to see both Lizzie Gough and Tommy Franzen from sytycd in the context of a show surrounded by other professional dancers. You are led to believe that these guys are the best that the UK has to offer. What struck me is how much they blended in with the troupe. They may have been on tv for a few months, but they are definitely not the best out there. In saying that, Tommy, who came second in sytycd, at times did stand out from the rest of the dancers. Not so much due to talent, which is definitely in no short supply, but more so because he has an extremely distinctive style. So much so that it was incredibly obvious which routine he choreographed for the show. I honestly believe he has a future in choreography, with his routine being one of the most enjoyable in the show.

The three breakers (four if you count the MC) are clearly at the top of their game. The moves that these guys pulled off were only matched in precision and skill by sheer lunacy. It’s amazing to see these three dancers, nay athletes, pull off some of the most death defying moves I’ve ever seen. The little comic interludes for the three breakers were also very well done.

While all the routines were quite amazing, the highlight of the night was definitely the extremely touching couch routine. The two dancers, Rowen Hawkins and Lil’ Steph, portrayed two quarrelling lovers with a grace and poignancy usually only seen in contemporary dance routines. While it felt a little sytycd, I was sucked right in. It’s a problem I have.

The technical aspects of the show, particularly the lighting and projection work, were simply breathtaking. The way that both worked with the set design was slightly awe inspiring. Special mention of Lizzie’s 3D routine, where the dancer interacted wih the lighting and projection flawlessly. It was a fantastic display of performance and technology working in ways that theatre often refuses to. The lighting designers, Patrick Woodroffe and Adam Bassett, and video designers, Mehmet Akten, Robin McNicholas and Jane Laurie, need to win something for this show. Now.

Overall, whilst being a slight dance philistine, I enjoyed Blaze immensely. Even a dance moron like myself can see and appreciate the flawless technique and immense skill that everyone in his production posesses. I wholeheartedly suggest seeing this before it moves on in a weeks time.

Blaze is playing at the Peacock Theatre until March 28.

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