- To fetch a pail of water
- Depouillement
- Second coming
The USP is that the company is for black and Asian dancers. This left a lingering thought in my mind as to whether the world of dance is so prejudiced that a ring-fenced company is needed. Sad if true and maybe the most important part about the show. It was quite clear that the audience was made up of a far higher BAME proportion than is usual at the ROH.
The works themselves were engaging and centred upon the last - Second Coming choreographed by Mark Bruce. This was probably the oddest of the three, being a supernatural tale of an immaculately conceived son who when called back by his father, preferred to stay on earth. It was set to an array of music ranging from Tom Waits to Elgar. Obviously, my summary of the synopsis transports one to the New Testament but the piece itself did not in the least, to the extent that I'd happily accept that my my ex post viewing linking is a red herring. It isn't, of course, but one would have been hard put to get the synopsis, let alone any links, from merely watching the piece.
The middle piece, Depouillement felt much more classical and simple with three pairs of dancers - two in black and one in white - performing to music by Ravel. As Charlotte Kasner on the Critical Dance website describes it:
It is the sort of work that requires more than one viewing to appreciate its intricacies fully, as the eye darts hither and thither following first this and then that movement, and possibly missing much in the meantime. Partnering was solid throughout. Although none of the dancers produced jumps or turns that wow, they are all strong, and some of the ports de bras were exquisitely fluid, arms floating agonisingly slowly into text-book-correct place with the women and creating the epitome of the beauty and perfection that is ballet from the men.
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