BALLET REVIEW: The Rite Of Spring - The Lowry Theatre, Salford.

This evening I was at Salford's Lowry Theatre to watch acclaimed choreographer and dance company, Seeta Patel, perform their Indian / Western fusion interpretation of Stravinsky's 'The Rite Of Spring'.

The performance was in two very distinct and different halves. In the first half, lasting roughly 30 minutes, we see Seeta Patel herself perform the traditional Indian dance style called Bharatanatyam, a dance style from Southern India which is traditionally performed as a solo, which was the case here. This was a very sincere and heartfelt interpretation by Patel, as she used the traditional dance movements and mime to represent the story. This was helped by a single video projection screen to the rear of the stage which accompanied the dance with abstract images looking very much like they were drawn with an Etch-a-Sketch. To further amplify the cultural significance of this dance, three musicians were also used; seated on seats invisibly suspended in the air behind the projections. These were Samyukta Ranganathan (vocals), Prathap Ramachandran (percussion), Vijay Venkat (flute).

The second half of the performance, after the interval, was a much more western interpretation of the story. Here were had a company of 10 dancers performing contemporary ballet to pre-recorded orchestral music (Stravinsky's The Rite Of Spring), played by The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. This piece, choreographed by Seeta Patel was a much more recognisable fusion of the two countries. A Western music score and majority western ballet style choreography, but interwoven within this were several Indian dance movements and expressions which set it apart from other contemporary dances. There was a also a central section to this dance which reverted back to the Indian Bharatanatyam style much more closely, as the orchestra stopped, and the Indian voices started again as an interlude and connection between the two sections of this piece.

The choreography was exciting and there was a very good use of space and 'pictures' throughout. Where the company fell short just a little was in their timing. There were several moments within this second 40 minute piece where there should have been a sharply executed unison movement, which unfortunately were just not quite unison enough. Otherwise though, this was a very interesting, and indeed educational, evening, being both entertained and learning about a new-to-me culture and dance style. You do however, need to know the story of 'The Rite Of Spring' beforehand though, since both these interpretations take their own paths through the story, and sometimes it is not entirely clear what the narrative is.

Be warned too, that there is no physical programme for this event, and so, if like me, you were wanting to read the programme etc before the show starts, or have it with you to refer to, you will need to have a mobile phone which accepts the QR code and read it online. Not ideal by any means.

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - m21.11.23