Dance: Defying gravity in the gloom

Botis Seva / Far From The Norm
Until We Sleep
choreographer-director Botis Seva
dancers Victoria Shulungu, Jordan Douglas, Larissa Koopman, Margaux Pourpoint, Rose Sall Sao, Naïma Souhaïr, Joshua Shanny Wynters
music Torben Sylvest
costumes Ryan Dawson-Laight • lighting Tom Visser
Sadler's Wells East, Stratford • 24-28.Jun.25 ★★★★

Choreographer Botis Seva and his Dagenham hip hop theatre company Far From The Norm bring this astonishing production to the stage in a way that creates a mesmerising dark cavern out of the deep rake at Sadler's Wells East. Because the set is drenched in smoke, the audience never quite gets a clear view of the seven dancers. And there's not even a curtain call. But the movement and staging are dazzlingly conceived and performed to create a powerfully involving look at mortality.

Because of the smoke, the lighting can quickly shift the stage from inky blackness into a shimmering glare. And a series of tall angled rods along the periphery look like a wall or bars around a cage until they begin to light up, shimmering on their own to add colours and create what appear to be doorways between dimensions. Most impressive, and impactful, is how the lights, music and movement are so precisely connected to hit the audience. Indeed, Torben Sylvest's soundscape-style score pulses with deep bass vibrations that literally rattle us to the core. The effect is almost overwhelming, a skilful display of stagecraft on every level. 

The dancers circle around the imposing figure of Victoria Shulungu, who takes the lead role as she faces a mysterious being who appears to be beckoning her from the afterlife. Her yearning desperation drives the narrative, pulling us into each encounter with the other gifted dancers. Sometimes these are tender and hopeful, and at other times menacing as elements of horror and violence heighten the tone. The performers expertly deploy bouncing, tightly contained movements that shift from individualistic to coordinated group expression.

This gravity-defying choreography continually takes us aback, evoking powerfully visceral emotions with military-style actions that explode into darkly unnerving moments such as an active-shooter incident. Each sequence carries a strong kick, including slow-motion walking that seems to be battling against the wind. Costumes have a post-apocalyptic feel, augmented by the way they remain hidden by the murkiness. It's the kind of show that holds us very tightly in its grip over the course of an hour, conveying feelings rather than openly stating ideas. And it leaves us reeling in all the right ways. 

For info, SADLER'S WELLS > 

photos by Tom Visser • 24.Jun.25

Dance: A good heart

balletLORENT

Snow White: The Sacrifice
director & choreographer Liv Lorent
writer Carol Ann Duffy
performers Virginia Scudeletti, Caroline Reece, John Kendall, Aisha Naamani, Geoff Hopson, Toby Fitzgibbons, Berta Admetlla, Montaine Ponceau, Cameron Woolnough, Cato Kendall Muniesa, Tassia Sissins
narrator Sarah Parish
costumes Libby El-Alfy, Nasir Mazhar
set Phil Eddolls • lighting Malcolm Rippeth
Sadler's Wells East, Stratford • 18.Apr.25 ★★★★

A family friendly version the Snow White fairy tale ran all week at Sadler's Wells East, but on Friday night it became The Sacrifice, a darkly grown-up take that doubles down on a woman's psychological battle against ageing and invisibility. This is a bold and eye-catchingly inventive staging of the familiar story, performed with skill and flair by the balletLORENT company, accompanied by 10 children from a local dance workshop. And its central themes come through with wit and strong emotion.

As the iconic story unfolds, it's clear that this isn't going to be your usual child-friendly version of the Brothers Grimm classic. Indeed, it harks back to the 1812 original version, with the widowed Queen (Caroline Reece) unable to cope when she discovers that a possible suitor is more interested in her teen daughter Snow White (Virginia Scudeletti) than in her. And then her magic mirror (Aisha Naamani in a gorgeous performance of dance and movement in a silver bodysuit) confirms that Snow White is kinder and fairer, prompting the Queen to plot murder. 

All of this plays out on a clever set designed like a giant vanity topped by the shimmering mirror. Music and lighting add fantastic effects, along with Sarah Parish's insinuating voiceover narration. As the set rotates to transform into the woodlands, we follow the Huntsman (John Kendall) as he is ordered to kill Snow White, grappling with his conscience in an astonishing nighttime dance joined by a stage full of creatures. Then Snow White runs into seven miners, and has further adventures in their home, including two more attempts on her life by the jealous Queen. Suffice it to say that there are several surprises in the storyline.

Through all of this, the show never flinches from violence or lustiness, rendered through expressive choreography and creative costumes, props and lighting. And there's comedy and romance too, from the lively bubble bath with the miners to a swooning death dance. The talented dancers perform the tricky choreo beautifully, creating vivid characters and situations that pull us into the story. This helps convey unusual resonance through the big feelings that are on display, as well as the larger parallels with self-image issues like social media and the quest for eternal youth. 

When things aren't too scary or sexy, the children return to the stage, integrated fully with the other dancers in impressive group numbers. This provides a series of dazzling sequences that swirl around the stage in a flurry of activity. A gorgeous combination of theatre, dance and storytelling, this is a first-rate production that will hopefully to return for run after run. It's well worth catching this adult-oriented take on the story if you get the chance.

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Luke Waddington and The Twins • 18.Apr.25

Dance: Birds of a feather

Julie Cunningham & Company / Jules Cunningham
Crow / Pigeons
choreography Jules Cunningham
performers Harry Alexander, Nafisah Baba, Yu-Chien Cheng, Jules Cunningham, Matthias Sperling
Crow: soundscore JD Samson • design Julie Verhoeven
Pigeons: music Julius Eastman • costumes Loe D'Arcy
lighting Joshie Harriette
Sadler's Wells East, Stratford • 27-28.Mar.25 ★★★★

Part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, this show features two pieces by Jules Cunningham, both of which use birds to explore issues of marginalisation in the vast but intimate new space at Sadler's Wells East. Each of these performances looks at issues of isolation and community, obstacles and freedom, through the eyes of vulnerable beings in the big city. So there are moments in each piece that are dazzlingly powerful, especially in the way the music combines beautifully with the skilled dancers' movement. At the same time, they also remain just a little out of reach.

Crow features Cunningham and Harry Alexander performing on a huge stage dotted with offbeat artefacts that create little spaces. In one of these, JD Samson performs live at a DJ deck, interacting with the dancers. Dressed like New Romantics, their movements resemble crows, individualistic but mimicking each other, moving in start-and-stop circles and striking staccato poses, reacting to the music. They also observe their surroundings, including an extended period when they amusingly stare down the audience. The lighting features red and black against a background screen featuring a swirling collage of colours and shapes. The kinetic performances are loose and offhanded, creating lovely rhythms and shapes without even a hint of emotion.

By contrast, Pigeons is more lyrical from the start, as all five dancers fill the stage by darting around in various formations, spiralling off on their own or moving together in fascinating layers of synchronicity. The costumes are floaty, deconstructed streetwear, and the way they group together and spin apart is fluid and naturalistic, beautifully augmented by Julius Eastman's multiple-piano piece Gay Guerilla. With very little arm movement and no lifts, the dancers convey feelings of isolation as well as unity, creating engaging connections that soar and resonate lightly. They also leave us with something to think about after the show. 

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >

conceptual photos by Studio Long • 27.Mar.25