STUDENT DANCE REVIEW: Novacene - The Lowry Theatre, Salford.

34 teenagers from all walks of life and from all areas of England came together this evening in a fully-inclusive piece of original choreography by Wayne McGregor. This 55-minute non-stop piece of contemporary dance had it's world premiere performance this evening at Salford's Lowry Theatre. It will now take a short tour of the country finishing at the U. Dance Festival in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on the 23 July.

The title of this piece 'Novacene' sounds very much like either a virus or indeed the vaccine brand name to cure it, and in these post-Covid times, that could easily have been the company's intention. This is contemporary ballet, and so the thought processes and narratives that the company perform are more internalised than traditional ballet, and the storylines (if indeed there were any), were not readily accessible. Indeed, there was nothing of any help in this regard in the large and glossy programme either. That is not to say that there wasn't any - in fact, I am certain that each dancer on stage this evening knew exactly what they were dancing, and what their story / motivation / relationship etc was the whole time... that was what made it so compelling; but despite their gravitas and sincerity, the meaning of the dance did not transcend the fourth wall. 

For much of the ballet - the entire first section in fact - there was a screen in front of the action with computer-generated images and such appearing on it. Very militaristic and futuristic, but this also distanced us even further from the dancers, and had the effect of us watching a television screen rather than a live piece of theatre. I did not understand the costuming at all, but the lighting design was effective, sound levels were good, and I enjoyed the differing combinations of dancers used, from individual, to duet, to small ensemble, to full company, sometimes doing their own things within the body of the whole and sometimes in unison. The use of space and their relationship within that space was excellent and the individual talents of the dancers was never in question. In fact, using the music they did use, there was only one small section towards the end of the piece when the dancers were actually able to find a discernible beat and utilise it for their movements; otherwise, their rhythms and timings were all internalised, and this was no mean feat at all.

The dancers showed great skill in spacing, timing, and the variations of light / heavy and fast / slow (Laban) were excellently observed. An interesting, enjoyable, and excellently realised piece of modern dance.

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 15.4.23