If you’re new to the world of dance, then the annual celebration of the craft is the perfect thing for you. The two hour performance brings seven brilliantly talented performers and groups together into one space. With the perfect bite-sized performances of only ten minutes, five minute breaks between allowed the experience to truly sink in.
Bang on 7.30pm, and we were greeted by the soulful and powerful music and dance of the Uchenna Dance Team. An all female group who used head-wraps as their crowns, and owned the stage in a way that made you proud to be a woman. Sometimes you just need that evening pick-me-up of someone telling you that you can do it, and these ladies managed to bring that empowerment into their dance as if it were second nature.
Straight after the experience that opened our eyes, the atmosphere changed. A beautiful piece of classical music brought in a wave of calm as two of the Semperoper Ballett dancers brought alive an extract from George Balanchine’s ‘Diamonds’. In outfits that glittered like the stars, and grace that seemed as though they were walking on clouds, I very nearly signed myself up for a ballet class there and then. It was a skill to die for and the principal ballerina and the ballet master both made it look so seamless.
After this performance however the audience was thrust straight into another wholly different performance. Marvin Khoo performed an Odissi solo. If you’re like me and have no idea what on earth Odissi is, don’t worry. Odissi is a traditional Indian dance style that originated in Hindu temples. Khoo brought everything to the stage, and even the musical accompaniment was performed live. For those ten minutes, the whole theatre had been brought into a little pocket of awe-inspiring bliss.
All of the traditional work as amazing, however it was the contemporary pieces that made my heart skip a beat. ‘Killer Pig’ from the Rambert2 dance company brought a whole new meaning to modern dance. More like an art piece and experience than a show, the team used every part of their bodies to tell a story. Set to music that felt as though we had fallen into an underground house rave, Rambert2 had stripped themselves down to the bare bones and gave us nothing but raw energy and passion. By the end, I could hardly believe any of the dancers were standing up after running around so much and moving their bodies in such dramatic ways.
An interval was needed after the energy, and thankfully that’s what Sadler’s Wells’ gave us. A fifteen minute window with just enough time to recharge and grab that interval ice cream that no theatre trip is complete without. There was barely enough time to finish the ice cream before the lights had dimmed once again and a young woman appeared on stage.
Patricia Guerrero performed flamenco dancing with a bit of a twist. She was the music. With only percussion and a vocalist to accompany her, Guerrero turned a pair of shoes on a stage into a conversation in the language of dance. Her traditional dancing was mixed with more modern flamenco, and once again for the second time that night I was left in awe wondering where my closest dance class was. If I could manage to get even one of those steps right, I would have been a truly happy woman.
The hot and energetic passion of Guerrero was followed up by another very striking piece. The Richard Alston Dance Company describe their dance style as “guilty pleasure dancing”, and no this is not the kind of dancing you do in front of your mirror to Britney Spears. This is a mix of ballet and contemporary dance, and an extract from their new piece: ‘Brahms Hungarian’. Both the women and men moved with enough fluidity to grace the stage that none of them made a sound.
At the end of the night, after all was said and done, Sadler’s Wells’ had one last trick up their sleeve. Something completely different and all around exciting. ‘What is BirdGang?’ is a new piece from hip-hop dance troupe BirdGang. All in masks, and wearing black, every dancer became a body of movement using the light and dark to their advantage. We were not watching a group of people together, we were watching a collective. A collective working as one, moving together in ways that we could only possibly imagine. It was a perfect end to the night, and frankly I left with a newfound appreciation for dancing. Once I thought it but an exercise, now I had been shown it is an art.
Reviewer - Aidan Bungey
on - 8/2/19
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