Dance GB - Review

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff.

27 June.

A unique piece for a unique year, or rather I should say three pieces, as National Dance Company Wales, Scottish Ballet and English National Ballet join forces to create a pioneering celebration, combining dance with the Olympic Games. London 2012 has taken the country by storm, and none of it has become repetitive, especially these fabulous spectacles of physicality and dance.

Part of the Cultural Olympiad (labelled as the largest cultural celebration in the history of the Games). As the British Nations unite to compete, these dance companies have united to celebrate and showcase the skills of the dancers. Each dance company brought its own artistic identity to the theme of ‘athleticism’, along with world renowned Choreographers.

First up was Scottish Ballet with Run with It, as a spectacle of fast paced physicality it showcased the dancers skills and agility, Martin Lawrence’s dynamic choreography blurred line between the athleticism of the Olympics and the grace and fluidity of dancers. The unexpected formation of starting line and ordered pattern of runners is in stark juxtaposition to the fluid, free moving dancers Conducted underneath the modern, clean lined representation of a tree by Martin Boyce the atmosphere changed with the dancers movements slowing and growing more pronounced as the lighting changed through the ‘leaves’ of the tree. Dressed in a stylised athletic kit the dancers blend and contrast with the lighting as they move.

Christopher Bruce National Dance Company Wales: the baby of the group and the home team presented Dream. An entirely different, homely, British piece as the dancers gather on stage dressed in 50’s costume. A village sports day or a child’s dream? The dancers romp around the stage competing in egg and spoon, tug of war, sack and three-legged races before disrobing and Ravel’s Bolero launches from the Orchestral pit and the dancers spring into athletic movements of fencing, boxing, figure skating, and synchronised swimming, sports that melded the grace of the dancers with the more regimented precise sporting movements. Dream was a marvel to watch and with a year of Britishness upon us it brought our history and the ordinary people behind it, back to the fore front with true grace and wit. Particularly, as there were moments of comic perfection that the audience were able to laugh with.

English National Ballet closed the show, with And the Earth Shall Bear Again, a darker, much more apocalyptic piece than the others. Dressed in sheer, earth coloured outfits, dancers are bathed in a brilliant shaft of light as they pass beneath it, and the rest is shrouded in ever increasing darkness. Whether dancing alone or in groups. Choreographed by Itzik Galili there is a contemporary take as the dancers move to create mirror images of each other and building uniformity. There is an increased intensity to their movements as the rhythmic percussion of John Cage’s music increases in pace and volume. Whilst overly loud for a soundtrack the dancers entranced the audience with their confident and bold performances.

New to dance, it was an impressive display of talent, poise and creativity. Everyone enjoyed, whether there for the dancing, Olympic themes or to experience something new.