★★★✰✰ Episode Three of Dancing Nation contains works by Matsena Productions (Anthony & Kel Matsena), Kenneth Tindall for Northern Ballet, Shobana Jeyasingh, and Marion Motin for Rambert.
Tag - Yo Yo Ma
★★★✰✰ Mark Morris's Layla and Majnun is a music concert with dancing, lamenting a love that cannot be. It's an age-old story, spread across continents and centuries.
★★★★✰ After watching two of the four programs, a few things stand out. Firstly, it is clear that this is no simple gala, despite the format; there is a strong personal esthetic and philosophy at work behind the programs.
★★★✰✰ Where Morris succeeded beautifully was in melding Eastern dance styles into his balletic modern vocabulary in deep torso bends, dervish whirls and arms extended beyond his already expansive port de bras.
★★★✰✰ IDFB is great for Birmingham and I hope those in and around the city filled their boots.
When he begins to move, you are not just impressed by what he’s doing – which is impressive enough – but also touched by the quiet joy and purity of expression that emanates from his body and eyes.
The choice of programme was something of a curate’s egg – disappointingly so in view of the company’s rich repertoire – but two out of the four works were excellent and the dancing was spectacular.