Dance: Demanding and dazzling

Acosta Danza
Cuban Baroque
artistic director Carlos Acosta
performers Frank Isaac, Paul Brando, Thalía Cardín, Melisa Moreda, Alexander Arias, Daniella Urgelles, Aniel Pazos, Cynthia Laffertte, Ernesto Muñoz, Ofelia Rodríguez, Rolando Dieguez, Wendy Elizabeth, Miguel Gomez, Carolina Monteagudo, Amado Mancebo, María Del Carmen Pantoja
musicians Pepe Gavilondo, Ezo Sarici, Adrian Aguiar
costumes Anastasios Sofroniou, Verena Hemmerlein, Goyo Montero
lighting Nicolas Fischtel, Goyo Montero
Sadler's Wells, London • 7-10.Oct.26 ★★★★★

Carlos Acosta's dance company goes from strength to strength, producing thrilling shows that leave the audience as out of breath as the performers themselves. This double bill is seriously demanding of the dancers, and it keeps the viewer in a state of wonder. Even without a narrative structure, the show carries us along on waves of emotion that surge across the stage. It's purely and simply jaw-dropping.

First up is Pearls, a new work choreographed by Andonis Foniadakis to a musical score by Julien Tarride that creates a sense of baroque elegance (using the 18th century chaconne Salve Regina by Esteban Sallas) as the dancers perform sweeping choreography that locks into the quick rhythms. Movement is both strong and loose, performed as solos, duets and in a large group with a strong sense of abandon. Flourishes are simply stunning, fluid and connected, spinning and swirling across a stage that is marked by projected lines that move to create new spaces. 

The costumes feel both futuristic and in a period style, aubergine bodysuits accompanied by chaps, skirts or trousers, and the men lose their shirts along the way, all of which augments the physicality in rippling waves of motion. There's a push and pull as couples form and swap, then the lighting shifts and the music swells into a pounding Cuban beat that sparks a full-on rave, revealing sharper moves that include jumping and bouncing in insistent unison. In the end, the dancers collapse onto the stage, then impressively rebound into a soulful, beautiful finale.

After the interval, the performers are somehow immediately back on top form as they tackle Goyo Montero's Chacona, accompanied by Bach's Partita No 2 in D Minor, gorgeously played live on the stage on piano, violin and guitar. Created in 2011, this piece is equally demanding, and it requires even more unity for a larger group of 16 dancers as they all remain on-stage throughout, navigating spotlit areas to perform a mix of classical and modern choreography.

Some segments involve them standing along the edges while solos and duets fill the illuminated spaces, so there are echoes of dance studio settings and fashion catwalks as dancers break out to perform. Echoing movement continually catches the eye, as we begin to sense a yearning sense of purpose, the need to move. This is utterly mesmerising, hugely expressive as performers play with light and shapes as they spin, lift, slide and float with startling precision. These dancers are astonishingly fit and absurdly talented, maintaining elegance and artistry during what is clearly a strenuous physical workout. It's emotive, intricate and utterly magical.

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Charlie Kirkpatrick & Johan Persson • 7.Oct.26