Lost Dog / Ben Duke – In a Nutshell
★★★★✰ Lost Dog’s short film, streamed for free by The Place Online was made at the beginning of lockdown and is a eulogy to live performance before the pandemic but also a rumination on life without human contact.
Amici Dance Theatre’s 40th Anniversary during lock-down
The six films in the 40th anniversary celebration provide tantalising glimpses of Amici’s considerable back catalogue, which includes short works as well as major productions…
SystemsLAB mixed bill, curated by Freddie Opoku-Addaie – London
★★★✰✰ Featuring works by Jonzi D, Theo Inart, Becky Namgauds and the due of Ffion Campbell-Davies and tyroneisaacstuart.
![2Faced Dance Company's promotional image for the EVERYTHING [But the Girl] triple bill.© Chris Nash. (Click image for larger version)](https://149359931.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cn-everything-3bill-promo-image_360-300x180.jpg)
2Faced Dance Company – EVERYTHING [But the Girl] triple bill – London
★★★✰✰ This triple bill marks 2Faced Dance Company’s 20th anniversary. EVERYTHING [but the girl], presents two new pieces alongside a reworked number from 2011…
EDIFICE Dance Theatre – Salomé – London
★★★✰✰ This inventive dance theatre summarises Oscar Wilde’s one-act play, which relates the Biblical story of Salomé and her unrequited feelings for Jokanaan…
Richard Alston Dance Company – Final Edition – London
★★★★✰ 8th March at Sadler’s Wells was the last time we were able to see Richard Alston’s work performed by his own company of dancers. Jann Parry with a full and perceptive review of Alston’s latest work and last company show.
Linda Hayford and Kloé Dean – AlShe/Me and Man Up Aerowaves 2 bill – London
★★★★✰ Family ties were explored in two markedly different ways in this hip hop dance double bill.
Scottish Dance Theatre presents Joan Clevillé – Antigone, Interrupted – London
★★★★✰ Joan Clevillé’s direction deserves much praise. A solo show for more than an hour on such an esoteric subject is a difficult framework to sustain and Clevillé’s structure is expertly paced with quick transitions and surprising interludes.
Some Memorable Performances of 2019 – London
Lynette Halewood with some reflections on London dance performances over the last year – the good and the less good…
Luca Silvestrini’s Protein – The Little Prince – London
★★★★✰ Silvestrini has fashioned a striking theatrical experience in perfect harmony with this timeless story, capped by a triumphal performance in the title role.
Richard Alston Dance Company – Alston at Home – London
★★★★✰ Richard Alston’s title for his company’s last tour before it closes in 2020 is Final Edition. The autumn run ended with four performances at The Place, in a programme aptly called Alston At Home.
Just Us Dance Theatre / Joseph Toonga – Born To Manifest – London
★★★★✰ This is a thoughtful and nuanced depiction of how complex and fraught identity can be in Britain today, put across with meaty, muscular force by two charismatic performers.
Tom Dale Company – Step Sonic, Resonance of Air, Escape, Surge – London
Tom Dale Company Step Sonic, Resonance of Air, Escape, Surge ★★★✰✰ London, The Place 14 November 2019 tomdale.org.uk www.theplace.org.uk This two-part programme of work in progress further enhances Tom Dale’s reputation as a…
ACE Dance and Music – Skin Reimagined: Blind Trip, Letlalo – London
★★✰✰✰ Blind Trip was longer than it deserved to be and mixed too many ideas to be compact and coherent, while Letlalo left me wanting more of the performance on stage but less of the filming going on beside me.
Igor and Moreno – BEAT – London
★★★★★ Cool, intelligent, thought-provoking, BEAT excels because of its fantastic creative team and its absolute superstar dancer, Margherita Elliot.
Sung Im Her – Nutcrusher – London
★★★✰✰ Sung Im Her’s Nutcrusher is a dance work which adds a valuable contribution to the #metoo movement with its gritty aesthetics and undoing of the sexually coded body.
Jonathan Goddard and Lily McLeish – While You Are Here – London
★★✰✰✰ While You Are Here is disappointing despite using a cohort of the best contemporary dancers in the country, working with theatre director Lily McLeish and featuring fine design and lighting.
Lucy Guerin – Split – London
★★★★✰ Fascinating for the duration of its 50 mins, Split focusses on duality – charting the shifts between Ashley McLellan and Lilian Steiner as they negotiate their space, timing, movement and relationship.
Gary Clarke Company – Wasteland – London
★★★✰✰ Clarke doesn’t pull any punches with his ending …once again, a community is left defiant but defeated.
Impermanence – Baal – London
★★★✰✰ Baal conveys a convincing Brechtian essence framed through a contemporary gaze. It’s an intriguing work that celebrates the company’s wild creativity…
