Dance: Pushing forward

New York City Ballet: Mixed Bill
Sadler's Wells, London • 7-10.Mar.24 ★★★★

Displaying skills at the very peak of the artform, the New York City Ballet continues to blend a reverence of classical forms with modern touches. So this mixed bill is packed with moments that feel surprising and even thrilling as they subvert expectations. This is a spirit-lifting programme featuring four distinct pieces...

Rotunda
choreography Justin Peck
music Nico Muhly
dancers Megan Fairchild, Miriam Miller, Jacqueline Bologna, Sara Adams, Indiana Woodward, Unity Phelan, Daniel Ulbricht, Victor Abreu, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Sebastián Villarini-Vélez, Jules Mabie, Gilbert Bolden III
conductor Andrews Sill

First up is Justin Peck's jaunty gathering of 12 dancers wearing colourful practice garb, floating in shapes together and separately, echoing each other and then shooting off individually as if they are in a rehearsal jam session. It's expressive and fluid, with an almost weightless, bouncy sensibility that reveals the dancers' lyrical athleticism. Further impressive sequences include duets, solos and more group numbers, all held together with the buzzy choreography and bright music, performed live by an orchestra. Most powerful is the connection we feel between the dancers as they spin around each other, revealing a camaraderie that adds to the impact of the piece.

Duo Concertant
choreography George Balanchine
music Igor Stravinsky
dancers Megan Fairchild, Anthony Huxley
piano Elaine Chelton • violin Kurt Nikkanen

There's an instant cheeky sense of interaction between two musicians and two dancers on-stage, as Stravinsky's music starts things off before the physical movement begins. Balanchine's choreography still feels fresh and inventive, revealing beautiful lines, big emotions and engagingly expansive expressions. As these two gifted dancers spiral around the stage, they continually offer humane touches that bare their souls, with added moments of wit, emotion and dazzling footwork. Throughout the piece, they return to the piano and violin to get lost in the music, regroup and set off again. It culminates with a lovely black stage illuminated with action in tiny spotlights.

Gustave Le Gray No 1
choreography Pam Tanowitz
music Caroline Shaw
dancers Naomi Corti, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Ruby Lister, Mira Nadon
piano Stephen Gosling

The piano remains on-stage, as four performers appear dressed in red, with floaty drapes over full-body suits. Once again, there is interaction between the musician and the dancers, but this has a more technical feel to it, choreographed to focus on movement and shapes rather than deeper emotions. It's beautiful, with fascinating touches and some wonderfully cool moments. It's also rather self-conscious in the way it plays out, revealing impressive skill without deeper emotionality. The highlight is a wonderfully absurd sequence in which the dancers push the piano across the stage, and the pianist doesn't miss a note. 

Love Letter (on shuffle)
choreography Kyle Abraham
music James Blake
dancers Olivia Boisson, Jacqueline Bologna, Naomi Corti, Christopher Grant, Emily Kikta, Ruby Lister, Malorie Lundgren, Jules Mabie, Alexa Maxwell, Roman Mejia, Mckenzie Bernardino Soares, Taylor Stanley, Quinn Starner, Kennedy Targosz, Peter Walker

Ending on a high, this final piece is a wonderfully engaging mix of classical ballet moves with modern dance and hip-hop. The performances and choreography are often exhilarating, accompanied by soulful music that continually reveals new textures. This is a visceral piece that unfolds in a series of terrific variations in pace, creating an expressive, intriguing dreamlike atmosphere that's infused with life and humour. The movement is luxuriant, performed with serious strength while the 15 dancers allow their personalities to emerge in their interaction. With clever costumes that feature theatrical flourishes, and colourful lighting that adds textures to the floor, this is a lovely collection of impressive solos, romantic duets and buoyant group moments, coming full circle with Joy Division's Atmosphere.

For information: SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Erin Baiano & Paul Kolnik • 7.Mar.24

Dance: Kick off your Sunday shoes

Turn It Out 
with Tiler Peck & Friends
director-curator Tiler Peck
lighting Brandon Stirling Baker
costumes Reid Bartelme, Harriet Jung, Robert Rosenwasser, Amy Page
sound design Christopher Merc
Sadler's Wells, London • 9-11.Mar.23

Acclaimed as one of the very best American ballerinas, New York City Ballet principal Tiler Peck curated this collection of four energetic pieces at Sadler's Wells. Each is a distinctive celebration of dance performed by a supremely talented ensemble that clearly loves what they do. "Dance is such a hard thing to do," Peck says. "But I love it so much. It really is the best feeling in the world."

Thousandth Orange
choreography Tiler Peck
music Caroline Shaw
dancers Jovani Furlan, Christopher Grant, Lauren Lovette, Mira Nadon, Quinn Starner, KJ Takahashi
musicians Shu-Wei Tseng, Sophia Prodanova, Max Mandel, Adrian Bradbury
(Note that the image is from a previous production)

Created as a conversation between choreographer and dancers, this opens with a tableau featuring six performers in pastel costumes. They then dissolve into couples, spinning in their own directions while also engaging with each other and forming larger shapes together. It's a lovely flourish of colour, a charming burst of classical dance with modern attitude. And the dancers' physicality is remarkable, moving and interacting in enticing ways. Composer Shaw describes the title as a reference to seeing the same thing (like a piece of fruit) over and over again, and yet always finding something new in it.

Swift Arrow
choreography Alonzo King
music Jason Moran
dancers Roman Mejia, Tiler Peck
piano Shu-Wei Tseng

This duet was inspired by Hindu philosophy relating to the soul's desire to close the gap between ourselves and others. It's a fiercely physical piece, in which Peck and Mejia spiral around, pushing in opposition and pulling into each other, while also echoing, growing closer and even merging as one. It's a visceral, intensely energetic performance with physicality that's fascinating rather than passionate. Wearing only a pair of shorts, Mejia has a dominant, lean physicality, while Peck demonstrates her own astonishing strength with staggering pointe work. Indeed, both dancers are riveting, balancing each other perfectly.

Time Spell
choreography Michelle Dorrance, Jillian Meyers, Tiler Peck
music Aaron Marcellus Sanders, Penelope Wendlandt
dancers Michelle Dorrance, Christopher Grant, Lex Ishimoto, Lauren Lovette, Roman Mejia, Jillian Meyers, Mira Nadon, Tiler Peck, Quinn Starner, KJ Takahashi, Byron Tittle

Infused with joy, this is a large-scale explosion of energy and style, blending ballet, modern dance, tap dancing and hiphop together in ways that are often dazzling. And it's accompanied by live music from Sanders and Wendlandt, who use their voices to improvise a score while interacting on-stage with the dancers. The various genres blur together in inventive ways that catch the audience by surprise, and the enthusiasm of each dancer is palpable. At the centre is the interaction between ballerina Peck and tap expert Dorrance, who breathtakingly mirror each other's work. Watching Peck tap dance en pointe alongside Dorrance is heart-stopping.

The Barre Project, Blake Works II
choreography William Forsythe
music James Blake 
dancers Lex Ishimoto, Brooklyn Mack, Roman Mejia, Tiler Peck

Finally, the ballet barre is the focal-point for this multi-part performance involving Peck and four male dancers, plus a rather perplexing short film featuring only hands. The clever choreography allows the dancers to bring their personalities onto the stage, adding some cheeky spark as they interact both with the barre and each other, once again creating an overlapping space where ballet and modern dance interact. Peck's easy grace and weightless leaps are mesmerising, especially alongside male dancers who provide shows of strength and gravity while also soaring themselves.

Each segment is infused with a traditional approach to gender, with muscly men paired with fluid women, performing steps in distinctly male or female styles. So even with progressive approaches to music and choreography, the show also remains oddly stuck in the past. That said, every movement is simply gorgeous, often thrillingly expressive as different forms of dance are fused together into something eye-catching and fresh. These are dancers performing at the very peak of physicality, skill and natural talent. And they bring a playfulness to the stage that's infectious.

For details, visit SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Geovanny Santillan, Christopher Duggan, Rosalie O'Connor • 10.Mar.23