It's that time of year again, and my annual visit to Salford's Lowry theatre to watch the regional finals of the U Dance Youth festival. It is always a highlight of my calendar and this year was no exception, despite being available to cover the first night only; so my apologies go to those performing on the Sunday, I was not able to watch your dances, so sorry.
U Dance North West's Saturday fayre however was a good mix of ages and abilities, but once again the vast majority of these entries were in the genre of contemporary dance / ballet. It seems to be somewhat de rigeur now for this festival somehow.
I am not a professional dancer myself - although I have danced in Musicals in years' gone by! - but instead am a trained Musical theatre actor and stage director, and so perhaps I look for different things in a dance than those who are looking for technically perfect steps. For me, I want to see the dancers enjoying and living the dance, if the dance is telling a story then they should be telling it with their eyes as well as their bodies. Is the choreography exciting, does it use the stage well, is there a mix of group, ensemble and solo work, do the costumes reflect the piece they are dancing, is the dance within their capabilities, etc etc etc - the list goes on!
There were 11 set pieces on this evening's programme, as as usual I was impressed with the overall commitment and dedication of all groups and their cheering on and supporting of each other.
Dancing the opening number, 'Dreams', was Infinity Dance And Theatre School, which interestingly did not have any unison work in the whole piece, but it was proficiently and nicely achieved. The came a Spanish-inspired work based around the life and work of Frida Kahlo performed by Altrincham Grammar School For Girls. We also saw Bury Youth dance perform 'Power Over Me', The Lowry Youth Dance Project's 'Here Dancing, It's Amazing'., Stockport grammar School's 'Oculus', and 'Ignition Is A Conversation' which combined both normal children with those with learning difficulties from Burnley College. We also were treated to another set of traditional Indian dances from the dancers of Swati Youth dance, this year showing us the different aspects of the God Shiva.
For me however, the most exciting and watchable performances came from E11evati0ns REWIND's 'Hills to Mills', Preston College's 'Cry Me A River', Eden Youth dance's retrospective of 1930's contemporary ballet in 'nature's breath', but for the sheer spectacle of lifts , balances, and gymnastics, the girls of 'MELODY' and their routine titled' Where do We Go?' has to top the bill for me!
However, my opinions are very subjective, and I truly commend all who took part and it was a fantastic evening of youth dance. I am already looking forward to U Dance 2027!
Cheers,
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
on - 14.3.26
