Dance: Connection is the answer

Nederlands Dans Theater & Complicité 
Figures in Extinction
direction & choreography Crystal Pite, Simon McBurney
dancers Alexander Andison, Demi Bawon, Anna Bekirova, Jon Bond, Conner Bormann, Viola Busi, Pamela Campos, Emmitt Cawley, Conner Chew, Scott Fowler, Surimu Fukushi, Barry Gans, Ricardo Hartley III, Nicole Ishimaru, Chuck Jones, Paloma Lassère, Casper Mott, Genevieve O'Keeffe, Omani Ormskirk, Kele Roberson, Gabriele Rolle, Rebecca Speroni, Yukino Takaura, Luca-Andrea Lino Tessarini, Theophilus Veselý, Nicole Ward, Sophie Whittome, Rui-Ting Yu, Zenon Zubyk
music Owen Belton • sound Benjamin Grant
lighting Tom Visser • sets Jay Gower Taylor, Michael Levine
Sadler's Wells, London • 5-8.Nov.25 ★★★★★

Nederlands Dans Theater and Complicité are two of the world's finest dance companies, led by top artists Crystal Pite and Simon McBurney. So it's hardly surprising that this three-part show (with two intervals) is both dazzlingly beautiful and often heart-stopping, drawing the audience in with visual, technical and artistic prowess to provide an experience that is both thought-provoking and deeply moving. From the detailed, precise choreography to an inventive mix of sound and light, everyone involved is at the very peak of their powers.

The trilogy opens with Figures in Extinction [1.0] the list, which I first saw as part of another NDT programme at Sadler's Wells in 2023. Here it's presented in a robust new context as it traces species and places that have been lost, including mammals, birds, flowers and glaciers. Alongside a mix of spoken words and musical underscore, each is depicted interpretively by the dancers in ways that send chills up the spine. Highlights include a herd of caribou, a breathing cheetah skeleton, a duet of macaws and a twitching frog. Through all of this there's a real sense that we are watching the earth disappear around us, and the earth is watching us.

Figures in Extinction [2.0] but then you come to the humans finds the entire cast on-stage in chairs, with tiny movements expressing isolation as they look into phone screens. Their reactions are hilarious, and also astutely pointed, as the voiceover speaks about how brains are constructed for various tasks, including the distinctly human ability to see perspectives beyond ourselves, giving us both distance and empathy. This plays out in expressive ways that urge us to see humanity in a new way. Visual trickery often feels like magic, especially as the dancers bring cameras onto the stage, projecting images onto the screen behind them. It's also deeply moving to think about humanity in connection with everything around us.

Finally, Extinction [3.0] requiem explores our relationship with those who have gone before us, intriguingly opening as each dancer notes where they were born, the culmination of ancestors scattered across the globe. A gigantic black cube descends onto the stage, revealing a hospital scene that plays out through this piece in a mix of gallows humour, family drama and profound grief. Even here, there's a blast of life in choreography that resolves into full-on Fosse-style jazz riffs as well as moments of racing and straining, understanding that death is something real for all of us. Witty, harrowing and tender, this is viscerally moving on surprising layers.

Throughout this show, light and shadow are skilfully deployed alongside striking projections, evolving through a series of spectacular transitions. But the demanding choreography makes the biggest impression, as dancers guide our eyes around the stage with both micro-movements and grandly sweeping physicality, often performing as if they are puppets controlled by an unseen hand. At every point in all three segments, there are pointed comments that combine physicality, religion and politics into a pure reflection of what it means to be human. It's the kind of show that changes the way we see the world and ourselves. As Pite says, "If separation is the question, then connection is surely the answer."

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Rahi Rezvani • 5.Nov.25