Set over the course of a weekend, The Regional U Dance festival incorporates workshops, masterclasses, presentations and activities for aspiring dancers from all over the North West. One Dance UK, in partnership with NorthWestDance and The Lowry have presented and hosted this yearly event for several years, and indeed this was the 6th time I have had the pleasure and privilege of being able to cover the two public shows on Saturday and Sunday evenings.
This time 11 teams of dancers were chosen by the regional panel to present their work in these shows each night (22 in all), with another two groups being asked to perform a new work or work-in-progress in the foyer before the show. On Saturday this was Company Chameleon Seniors, and Sunday a group of junior school children from Ingleton Dancers.
This year the vast majority of the dances on stage for both evenings were contemporary ballet / dance, despite U.Dance's ethos of being all-encompassing and treating all styles of dance equally. With there being 22 pieces from 22 different schools / academies, I simply cannot mention them all! Therefore I ask you, dear reader, to allow me some subjectivity in this review, whilst I mention those dances which, for me at least, I found the most satisfying. I am unaware of the criteria upon which these dances are judged by the region and national panels; however, I can tell you my own criteria. First and foremost I am looking for a whole presentation - a piece of choreography which is also a stand-alone piece of theatre. Lighting, SFX, set (if used), costumes, make-up and chosen music all cohere and compliment each other, and thought has gone into the overall 'look' and 'feel' of the piece, especially if there is a narrative drive within it. The choreography should be exciting and varied, with good use of space, levels, and techniques / moves, but should always be within the comfort zone of the dancers being tasked in performing them. And finally, I watch the dancers' faces to see if they are acting or just simply dancing.
Armed with all of this knowledge, I can now reveal my personal favourites. From the Saturday evening these were The Zig Zag Youth Dance (and even after having performed a 'Google' search for this company, can find nothing on the web about them or where they are from... that's a shame!) performing 'In Bad Faith'; Homegrown Dance Theatre, Chester, performing 'The Devil Inside Us'; Newmanovres Dance Academy from Preston, performing 'Missing', and my favourite from the Saturday evening simply had to be 'Werave' from a dance company I have been following and had a fondness for ever since seeing their production of 'The Qube' at my junior school whilst I was still in short trousers, Ludus Dance Company in Lancaster.
Sunday's evening show proved to be just as spectacular with many dances and dancers impressing me greatly. The show started excellently with Stockport Grammar School Dance Company with 'The State Of Impermanence'. Firm favourites this evening included LIPA 6th Form College performing 'Night Whispers'; Fusion Dance Company from Denton's 'Run Boy Run'; Wirral Grammar School for Girls' performing 'Sweet Dreams' [I loved the use of clouds and pillows in this sequence!]; and The WigLe Academy from Wigan performing 'Hold The Girl'. I have left the best until last though, and my absolute favourite piece from the entire festival {it was amazing!} came from a dance company from "the heart of the Lake District", and a company I have hitherto never heard of, but shall be making a point of following from now on; The Dance Attikk and their piece, 'ID Tag'. A complete piece of theatre danced with great skill and precision.
Congratulations to all the other participants too, and thank you all for allowing me to be so entertained by those who will undoubtedly be tomorrow's professionals. Keep dancing! and I look forward to seeing the North West's young dancing talent once again next year.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 25/26.3.23
on - 25/26.3.23
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