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6000 miles away Sylvie Guillem 20-25 May, Sadler’s Wells

Sylvie Guillem, a true dance goddess on stage! Her allure, grace and versatility leave her audience numb – eyes forget to blink, its the sheer awe of watching Guillem dance. In her artistic journey spanning for about 3 decades, she has worked with renowned choreographers, performed with innumerable companies and collaborated with dancers and film makers. Guillem returns to Sadler’s Wells with her ‘6000 miles away’ which premiered in 2011, featuring three pieces – Bye, Rearray and 27’52”.

‘Bye’ the closing piece of the evening, is a solo by Guillem, choreographed by Mat Eks.  It is based on Beethoven’s last piano sonata. Apart from being an outstanding piece of choreography and performance, it is a testimony of technological brilliance. It’s the high point where the energies of the two spheres – artistic creativity and technology, brush against each other resulting in a work of high art.

There is a white rectangular projection screen about 7 feet tall on which a zoomed in eye is trying to look out of a keyhole. As it zooms out we see Guillem…this is where ‘Bye’ begins. The projection screen appears to be a white boxlike space from where Guillem is gazing at the outside world – a little eager to step out. Along with curiosity there is fear of the unknown. She makes the first few hesitant but measured moves. She starts by trying to climb out from the top. We see Guillem’s head out from behind the top of the screen while the rest of her body remains within the screen (a pre filmed section). Here lies the mastery of coordination and timing. Its this play of reel and real that takes the piece to a surreal plane. This is followed by parts of Guillem’s body flickering out of the screen until she manages to completely squeeze out – her first full physical appearance on stage for this piece.

The rest of the piece leads to this lonesome sole exploring around her newly discovered space. She crosses paths with the projection screen which is trying to pull her back in. She resists with her inner strength personified by intense movements. Sometimes with a heavy gust of energy or a subtle tricky move she manages to keep herself out. Towards the end of the piece there starts appearing on the projection screen few others who look out to her. To us its blank gaze, but holds a message for Guillem. She has explored, now its time to return. She gets back in and what we now see is a pre filmed concluding part on the projection screen. She gradually merges with the crowd and is lost in her own space. We assume that the person who was with us for that brief moment has found the answers to her questions.

The piece produces an outflow of emotions that form a third layer, perhaps, in the human body under the flesh and the network of veins carrying the crimson blood. Had emotion been only a natural instinctive state of the mind then each muscle of Guillem’s body would not speak. Its the strength of Ek’s choreography that stirs that layer of emotion to project the idea of the piece. Guillem is a gifted dancer with a perfect body. Through her body, simple moves transform to magnificent forms, bringing an edge to her dance.

‘Rearray’ by William Forsythe is about strong technique that is flawlessly executed by Guillem and her partner Massimo Murru in the piece. An austere set up projecting a serious focus on movement. There is no strict narrative that the piece follows. It possibly suggests rearranging sets of movements to produce a fine piece of art.

‘27’52”’ the opening piece of the evening is performed by Aurelie Cayla and Lukas Timulak who bring with them a different dimension of movements. Set to an electronic score which is unrecognizably based on themes by Gustav Mahler, this piece is a contrast to the mood of the remaining evening. Choreographed by Jiri Kylian, ‘27’52”’ is a good filler but could not hold its might to ‘Bye’, as by the end of the show it fades away from the audience’s memory.

‘6000 miles away’ is based on Guillem’s belief that distance cannot end the admiration you might have for someone. It is not important for you to be physically near, to like someone. Most importantly, she named this production as an offering of respect to the victims of the Tsunami in Japan that happened as she was rehearsing with Forsythe in London. 6000 miles away is an extraordinary homage and a remarkable presentation which permanently places Guillem in the hearts of her audience.

                                                                                        Protima Chatterjee

Unlocking Creativity Shorts – Pulse/Kadam 9 May 2013-Hat Factory-Luton

Puse/Kadam connects South Asian dance and music to the community. While retaining its South Asian/Indian roots Pulse/Kadam has over the years succeeded in connecting with various other international art forms. Unlocking Creativity Shorts (UC Shorts) is one of its best productions that provides a platform for contemporary work in dance. The collaborative format encourages experimentation between different forms and techniques that stretches the boundaries of  cultural and artistic expression.

This year’s UC shorts showcased 5 hand picked pieces creating magic on the floor of the Luton Hat Factory. The evening started with a piece called “Brief Moment” by Spridoula Dance. Choreographed and performed  by dancer Nikki Bakolis-a contemporary and Bharatnatyam dancer, in accompaniment to live music by cellist/composer Ellen Jordan, the piece explores the relationship between a dancer and her counterpart on stage, which in this case was Ellen on cell. The relationship shared by the two performers using two different forms of art create a unique vocabulary of movement and sound. It brings in immense possibilities of performance through sharing each others positive energy in the course of their choreographic journey.

This was followed by an enchanting piece called Darshan by Divya Kasturi – a dancer trained in several Classical Indian Dance forms, vocal music and physical theatre. In her piece Kasturi “encounters the divine and demonstrates the power and attraction of Bharatnatyam”, a beautiful deviation amidst contemporary presentations. “Darshan” projects a celestial atmosphere flowing through energetic movements put together with grace and almost speaking facial expressions by the traditionally costumed Kasturi.

Ashima Suri, an Indo-contemporary dance artiste performed excerpts from  her “Ashes and Rebirth”, a forthcoming production. Her performance was in complete contrast to the evenings other performances. Ashima’s performance was pure energy and power unrestrained by inhibitions. Ashima was all set out to open her mind out to the audience and her vivid movements connected the audience to her emotions. She potrays “a story of a woman who through the reflection of herself in the painting, begins to shed the many layers and expectations of herself to the point where all that is left are ashes”. But her journey does not end here. She rises again. It’s the strength of being a woman.

The variety of the evening keeps unfolding when the next in line is ‘In’ versus ‘Un’ by Khavita Suri. A piece with a very modern approach where there is a clever play of dialogue that seamlessly blends into dance. The piece highlights the dichotomies of modern urban living- between chasing material well being and seeking spiritual comfort, ignorng the uncertainities that also exist, unwilling to take risks  But at times these uncertainities might excite us and we are left to juggle between the two sides of the rift. Kaur, a very lively performer arrests the audiences attention and brings in a touch of humour to the evening.

The evening’s crowning glory is guest artiste Kalpana Raghuraman’s “The Spirit of Frida”. This was premiered at the Epic Women Conference in Chennai. Depicted through powerful dance, film projection and mime,  the performance narrates the struggles of legendary mexican painter and activist Frida Kahlo. Its high on emotion and tugs at the audience’s  heart strings. Raghuraman is a performer of repute, and her strong stage presence complements her superb performance to create an unforgettable experience for the audience.

Unlocking Creativity Shorts is a bold and innovative platform that creates a canvas splashed with a rainbow variety of dance techniques, cultures, art forms and artistes providing a memorable experience to the audience.

                                                                                                    Protima Chatterjee

Breakin Convention 10th Anniversary – International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre at Sadler’s Wells, 4-6 May 2013

A weekend of Hip hop transforms the ambience of Sadler’s Wells once every year since 2004. This year was no exception. Started by Jonz D in association with Sadler’s Wells, Breakin Convention, is an international festival of Hip hop Dance theatre and a tribute to popular youth culture of today. It has incubated many Hip hop artistes helping them onto the stepping stones of success and stardom in their careers.

In keeping with the informal street origins of this dance form, every attempt is made to create a lighter atmosphere. The front rows of the house are removed to make room for a free standing audience – those who cannot help swaying to the music. This gives a complete night out feel with dance that throws out sheer energy.

This year’s presentation took place over the weekend of 4th March. There was a big line up of Hip hop groups and solo performers from across the country and also from outside the UK. Companies like Avant Garde Dance, Boy Blue Entertainment, Compagnie Revolution, Grounded, Jukebox Collective and many others were amongst the UK based groups. On the other hand Project Soul Collective from Korea, Next Level Squad from USA and Zamounda from France were the visiting groups. Each performance brought with them something new to wow the audience.

Comprising of an international cast of five differently-abled dancers- the Ill abilities crew is amazing. All of them have overcome a disability to become winners on stage and in life. Sergio Carvajal, Redouan Ait Chitt, Tommy Ly, Jacob Lyonsand and Puca Patuelli have used the freedom of movement and choreography to transform their insecurities, doubts and adversities into determination and power to take them forward in life. Their performance takes the audience on a journey through their minds in a unique language of dance. A very emotional piece that brings the audience to their feet at the end.

A review of this festival will not be complete without the mention of the “10Tens” choreographed by Vicky Mantey and Bruno Perrier. This is a special presentation to celebrate the 10th anniversary where 10 budding ten year old Hip hop dancers are brought together from across the country to perform this special piece to celebrate the occasion.

Breakin Convention is an electric celebration of a dance form that grew out of a popular street culture. It focusses on celebrating popular urban youth culture. Its success lies in its effortless mixing of an informal night-out feel with a formal stage performance.

                                                                                                        Protima Chatterjee

Puz/zle Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui-Eastman, Sadler’s Wells – 24-25 April

It was an enchanting experience at Sadler’s Wells watching Puz/zle choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Cherkaoui is one of the most prolific contemporary dancers/choreographers today who has created groundbreaking works of critical acclaim like Sutra, zero degree and most recently, TeZukA. Composed with 11 outstanding dancers from his Eastman company, Puz/zle is his most contemporary work.  Puz/zle “questions the seeming importance of order and linearity, and explores if there is more than one way of solving a puzzle, telling a tale and simply living”.

The chirping of crickets and stones on the stage create the perfect environment and invite curiosity in the mind of the audience as they settle in and listen to the stories from the stones.

The dream sequence like video projection  of endless rooms recedes to allow the dancers dressed in black, who moving busily like ants, appear from nowhere only to hurl themselves repeatedly against the door. The ants then make their way through stones, crawling up the stairs created, falling down but getting up again and in the process moving from disorder to linear discipline, from chaos to control.

The stones are the defining elements in this choreography.The stones make the walls move around the dancers, creating a constant churning of space enabling them to explore what is possible with their bodies.

Through the choreography Cherkaoui tries to discover new ways of engaging groups and natural leadership. On stage the dancers are continuously losing and discovering information. When a character finds something everyone follows, until another character finds something new for the group to switch and follow the new discovery. This process of progression through interconnected discoveries continues endlessly, possibly questioning linear thought and problem solving methods.

We see the very busy dancers  on stage for almost 2 hours, painting the stage with different pictures with smooth flowing movements.

The musicians – The drums, the flute, the enchanting Lebanese voice, take the choreography to a higher plane. Corsican polyphonic group A Filetta, Lebanese singer Fadia Tomb E-Hage and Japanese musician Kazunari Abe create the perfect backdrop to Cherkaoui’s choreography.

Cherkaoui’s concepts are realised  beautifully by  the ensemble of talented dancers and superb musicians, keeping the audience entertained while at the same time questioning status quo thoughts in their minds.

                                                                                                                Sharmi Roy

The Rite of Spring and Petrushka – Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre

The Rite of Spring (composed by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky in 1913 for the Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes) is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion Sadler’s Wells has commissioned the ” String of Rites “series. Michael Keegan-Dolan’s Double Bill The Rite of Spring and Petrushka, performed by his Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre, is the opening performance of the trio and was on for a 3 nights run 11 – 13 April at the Sadler’s Wells.

Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre is described as “one of the most daring and highly original dance theatre companies in the world”. It is an international ensemble based in county Longford, Ireland, led by founder and artistic director Michael Keegan-Dolan. From his previous works, Keegan-Dolan is known for his fast and furious approach, bold and sharp in his presentations. He took on Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring as a commission from the English National opera in 2009, and when asked if he had felt any apprehension on doing so he said “You jump, and then its like swimming the English Channel. You’ve just got to keep swimming”.

The rhythmic complexity of Stravinsky’s music piece and the numerous prior  choreographic interpretations make any new attempt challenging. Keegan-Dolan takes up this challenge and delivers one of the finest, thought provoking choreographies on Stravinsky’s music. Rite of Spring was intended to shock and awe a sophisticated middle class Parisian audience at the turn of the century. Fertility rites and ancestor worship, already concepts of the past were replaced with themes of fear – of the changing seasons, of violence, of death. Due to this nature of the presentation it was not a very welcoming experience to its audience in 1913. But today a contemporary audience is more receptive to a Keegan-Dolan interpretation of immense energy and vitality, the human urge for exploration and change

Keegan-Dolan has revisited his Rite of Spring version of 2009 for this performance. This time, through a cast of  6 male and 6 female dancers as opposed to 11 male and 3 female, he strikes a balance which has an underlying social hint of today’s world being equally shared by the two genders. He also clads his male dancers in girly floral short loose dresses along with the female dancers in part of his choreography. This blurs the gender division, leaving the space for the all powerful unifying creative energy. There is a sequence where the dancers both male and female are down on the stage floor, have intercourse with the ground, depicted through a brilliant set of choreographic movements . The imagery draws from an ancient Irish belief that a king on his coronation would engage in matrimony with mother earth which in turn would lead to a great yield of crops, failing which disaster would strike and the king would have to abdicate. This again can be looked at as power and right being uniformly distributed between men and women in  present times.

In the second piece -Petrushka,  Keegan-Dolan’s interpretation departs farther from the the original – Nijinski’s famed presentation of 1911. There are no sad puppets or a slaying of Petrushka. What we see is a more optimistic interpretation with a white stage and 10 dancers dressed in white. Each dancer tries to rise above and reach the world beyond. In the end its the chosen one that transcends, cleverly depicted by the dancer climbing up a rope ladder while the rest of the group gather around rejoicing at the ascent.

The choice of the two pieces Rite and Petrushka lend a perfect contrast in  light and colour. Rite opens with a bleak, wintery scene, gradually moving towards light, ending in a bright orange hue, welcoming the advent of Spring. Petrushka starts bright, more of a pure steel white continuing through, till in the end the white drops entirely exposing a pitch black. Rite is about darker elemental forces, about power and  violence while Petrushka is about hope and salvation to eternity.

The two pieces are danced in perfect rhythmic response to the piano duo arrangements by renowned concert pianists Lidija and Sanja Bizjak. With Rite of Spring and Petrushka Keegan-Dolan challenges the audience with another new interpretation of one of he most complex stage creations of the 20th century. A remarkable performance that continues to hold Keegan-Dolan’s  flag high.

                                                                                    Protima Chatterjee

Sutra-Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Antony Gormley / Monks from the Shaolin Temple. Sadler’s Wells

Watching one of Sadler’s Wells most popular productions which returned for a short run UK (3-6 April) Sutra redefined the spectacular power and magic of collaboration at the highest level.  Viewed by an amazing 160,000 people worldwide in 55 cities across 27 countries, Sutra has award winning choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui join hands with Turner prize winner Antony Gormley, along with 17 Buddhist monks from the Shaolin Temple in China in the first collaboration between Western artists and the Shaolin Temple.

Sutra, a Sanskrit word meaning rope or connection, creates fluid images on stage with a striking design of 21 wooden boxes which fold and turn, shift  and evolve in an ever-changing environment for the performers- 17 monks from the original Shaolin Temple along with Ali Thabet ( in the role played originally by Sidi Larbi). Working with dynamics of scale, space  and movement on a flat grey stage – the dancers evoke several fascinating images and landscapes, Gormley’s men on the roof, men on the ramparts, war, sea journeys, budding lotus flowers, men in black in the big city and men amongst ruins. The monks displayed flourishes of martial art ( kung fu and tai chi) and then contained space in narrow boxes which transformed as graves, highrise towers, Greek columns, bunker beds.

One of Europe’s most exciting choreographers, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has created 20 memorable pieces which include zero degrees with Akram Khan, Olivier award winning Babel, Dunas with flamenco dancer Maria Pages, Joe Wright’s film Anna Karenina and currently working on a tango inspired project for Sadler’s. In a career spanning 40 years, Antony Gormley has increasingly taken his work out of the gallery to collaborative and interactive participation as in the acclaimed One and Other commission in Trafalgar Square. Winner of the Turner Prize, South Bank Prize for Visual Arts and an OBE, Gormley  has also worked with choreographer Hofesh Schester at the Barbican last year.

Sutra is accompanied by a specially commissioned striking live score including piano, strings and percussion by Polish composer Szymon Brzoska who has previously collaborated with Cherkaoui in Dunas.

The show reflects profound imagination and riveting energy in the manner in which flat space is transformed by sheer physicality of the Shaolin monks. The monks are from the original Shaolin Temple in the Hennan province of China, established in 495 AD where they follow strict Buddhist doctrine and discipline. While they display mercurial, transformative power, Ali Thabet is all fluid, waterlike grace  in his flexibility.  Ali, trained at the National Centre for Circus Arts in France, first worked with Sidi Larbi in 2004. His connect with the child monk and their miniature cube model games were replicated with precise accuracy but magnified scale by the monks on/in/under/over the boxes.. The little monk offers the child’s perspective with humour, mischief, innocence and we share his profound wonder as the stage shifts and the players game unfolds.

The Guardian describes the production as taking ” the concept of cultural exchange to a whole new level”. Sutra is certainly about connections- to history, to cultures, to narratives, to space and to the fertility of imagination. Clearly an unmissable event as the packed houses testify. The audience walk out trying to interpret messages, discuss images and meanings. Which is what art is meant to do- stimulate the imagination.

                                                                                                             Sangeeta Datta

( Sangeeta Datta is a writer- director- singer-cultural commentator based in London.        She is Director of the performing arts company BAITHAK UK and SD Films ).

My First Cinderella English National Ballet 2 Peacock Theatre

Choreographer George Williamson retells Cinderella for a young audience, presented predominantly by young artistes of the English National Ballet 2- a joint venture between English National Ballet and its affiliate school. George turns this children’s favourite, to an unforgettable stage experience through the rudiments of the classical ballet. It is not easy to hold the attention of children for one hour and ten minutes of classical dance and music. Williamson effortlessly achieves the feat through a glittering presentation.

Cruel oppression ending in triumphant reward is a theme that has and always will enchant children. Topped with elements like malicious step sisters, an unjust step mother, a fairy godmother, a simple girl in rags transformed to a beautiful bejewelled maiden, a fairy chariot, a palace, a grand ball and a charming prince is bound to be a successful choice for creating children’s entertainment. A modern take on the story is added to this presentation by bringing in the land of the seasons where Cinderella is led by the fairy godmother to meet the four season fairies. This section is Williamson’s personal touch as it lends the variant seasonal shades to the piece both in colour and choreography. The section runs with a glistening silver moon on a black backdrop representing the still night sky, a very serene and twinkling scene for children to enjoy. All this set to Sergei Prokofiev’s emotion wrenching music is immensely powerful. The music has a melancholic undertow on which different emotions ebb and rise creating the rightly nuanced mood.

The dancers of the company ENB2 have excelled and are idols for the little aspiring ballerinas watching them in the house.

We have also tried to see the performance through the eyes of one of these aspiring little ballerinas. In the passages below we have Aishani sharing her experience of watching “My first Cinderella” in her own words.

                                                                                                        Protima Chatterjee

Eva Yerbabuena – !AY! Ballet Flamenco Sadler’s Wells

On Friday 15th March London saw the opening of the 10th Flamenco Festival with the world premiere of !Ay! by Eva Yerbabuena. The Festival is back with an eclectic collection of the finest Flamenco performers who have made their mark over the past 9 years. The lineup this year includes names like Farraquito, Rocio Molina, Israel Galvin and the irrepressible Eva Yerbabuena who got the festival to a soaring start on the opening night.

Flamenco has evolved and developed over the years. A folk art form that has remarkably conserved an ancient heritage with its unmistakable rhythmic patterns and tones that mark its varied forms, has been able to accommodate contemporary tastes while being deeply rooted in  spanish tradition. Flamenco is known for its emotional intensity, proud carriage, expressive use of the arms and rhythmic stamping of the feet. All these nuances of the dance and many more, to add ones own identifying and distinctive ownership, formed the core of Eva’s mesmerising performance. Above all of her technical brilliance,  her emotional intensity doesn’t fail to touch your soul!

Eva’s first appearance on stage was an haunting image. Just one spot of light into which she walks in, clad in a black long flowing chiffon costume against a black backdrop in total silence.

As she steps forward the spot of light follows her to where she stops in the front corner. A man clad in black walks in right after and positions himself behind her. He is the “cantadore” who begins to sing  the first cante. His very high pitched voice could make a glass filled up to it’s brim rumble and shake till the water spills out, the glass topples and smashes scattering glass around. To this voice eva starts rumbling her fingers faster and faster, the movement gradually moving up her arms and spreading through her body clearly depicting that something inside her, is frantically trying to shake her being to act, to create something beautiful yet transient, that will be missed once gone….a moment, a dream, a syllable…!!!

The show starts with this intensity and true to that first feeling the show pulls on right through to the end. It holds the audience’s rapt attention every second of its running time. The performance is divided in 6 sections all very differently choreographed, using various stage props, set to songs performed live on stage by three vocalists accompanied by three brilliant musicians. Paco Jarana on guitar is also the director of music for !Ay! and his work brings the real essence of Flamenco music. Each piece express a deep emotion and is the heart and soul of the performance together with Eva’s vigorous dance moves.

Eva’s level of energy is amazing. She dances nonstop in the piece, with the only break being a song in between. As she moves on from one act to the other she becomes even more fiery.Those sitting in the front rows have probably seen her expressive face muscles reacting with every move of her body and her glowing eyes. All this together created the vibrance that reached the last row in the topmost corner of the auditorium. At the end the performance was applauded with a standing ovation from the audience, as a homage to one of the leading flamenco exponents of the world.

                                                                                        Protima Chatterjee

Q&A with Miguel Marin Producer of Flamenco Festival London 2013

Born in Córdoba (1967), Miguel Marín is an internationally recognized producer of flamenco and Spanish cultural events.

In 1996 he founded Miguel Marín Productions, his own production company, and has presented festivals and events in the United States, UK, across Europe, China and others. The Flamenco Festival founded in 2001 with headquarters in New York, Washington DC, Miami and Boston, is today the main showcase for flamenco outside Spanish borders, having more than a million viewers worldwide.

In 2003 he added the Sadlers Wells Theatre in London becoming an unmissable annual event in the British capital, which has now grown to be the largest flamenco festival staged anywhere in the world outside Spain. Since then every year the festival has been conquering new cities around the globe, including Japan (2005), Paris (2006), Beijing (2007), Brussels (2008), Buenos Aires (2009), Shanghai (2010), Moscow (2011), Sao Paulo (2011).


Flamenco Festival London has seen an interesting line up every year. What is different in this year’s festival and is a surprise?

First of all, this is the 10th anniversary of Flamenco Festival London so we wanted to have some of the most outstanding artists who have appeared at the festival over the past decade, as well as some new surprises!

The festival will open on 15th March with a world premiere, by flamenco super star Eva Yerbabuena.  It is her first performance since she had her first child, which makes her decision to present this exciting new work all the more exciting.

We continue with the new show by Farruquito; the international premiere of the new album of Estrella Morente; and other shows that have been outstanding in the flamenco world this year, like the show of Israel Galvan La Curva.

New to the festival this year, we have created a series called Beyond Flamenco that will showcase some of the most experimental and cutting edge ideas in flamenco as well as new collaborations between flamenco and other contemporary dance forms; This includes two residencies called In Progress by two of the most outstanding young flamenco artists, Olga Pericet and Rocio Molina, who will be collaborating with UK artists; Tapeos that will delight audiences with performances in the foyer of the Sadler’s Wells.

Also for the first time, we will have master classes with renowned flamenco artists participating in the festival.

How does it feel to perform for a London audience?

We have been presenting Flamenco Festival in London for 10 years, and the audience in London is always a joy, as they are very excited by all types of dances. Right now Flamenco is developing the same kind of respect that other dance forms, like Ballet or contemporary dance has, and the Festival audience has a broader knowledge about Flamenco. It is really gorgeous as flamenco deserves to be on the same level!

What is your best memory of the festival over the years?

The audience, and how people over the years have created their own opinions about flamenco. They know flamenco as if they were a Spanish audience! It has been wonderful to witness how flamenco has developed such an international respect – it does not matter if you do not understand Spanish, as Flamenco is a language of feelings and can be understood all over the world.  For us to have flamenco in a prestigious venue like Sadler´s Wells is one of the best things that could ever have happened, and to see over the years that the Flamenco Festival London has become such an important international date in the dance calendar is wonderful.

Is there anything in particular that you think is yet to be brought to the festival?

 When we first began with the Flamenco Festival London we just presented dance, then later we introduced traditional music, and then after that, also notable singers.  Nowadays Flamenco Festival presents dance, song and guitar, which really give the broadest possible picture of the world of flamenco! This year we are presenting more experimental portrait of flamenco, with the Beyond Flamenco series which gives artists the opportunity to create work with other international dance makers and we would like to continue this way.

What do you find most exciting in the current trend of contemporary work in Flamenco?

For me it is that flamenco can contribute to the contemporary language of dance without loosing its authenticity.  It is exciting to see that even in it’s most contemporary form, flamenco can remain deeply rooted. It is also interesting how young flamenco performers continue to study flamenco thoroughly and understand the traditions of the dance form, and at the same time is keen to experiment with its exciting possibilities to present it in a  contemporary form. Rocio Molina, who is presenting Danzaora at the Festival on 19 March is a great example of a flamenco artist who has successfully integrated contemporary dance into her style. She has recently been invited by Sadler´s Wells to be a New Wave Associate, so it is wonderful to see that a flamenco artist is being championed in such a way!

As a producer and presenter of Flamenco which other dance form would you like to see Flamenco collaborating or experiment with?

Well, Flamenco has absorbed and collaborated over the years with almost all dance styles, for example Eva Yerbabuena worked with the legendary German choreographer Pina Bausch. We are presenting a piece during the Beyond Flamenco series titled  Romances that is directed by Juan Kruz, who is part of Sasha Waltz and Guests, and for example Rocio Molina is staging her residency with two hip hop artists and one videographer. Flamenco is evolving and drawing on other parts of dance and performance, which is something we’re very keen to promote.

                                                                                                       Protima Chatterjee

Ballet Revolucion Peacock Theatre

Cuba is synonymous with dance.There is always an excuse to dance when you are in Cuba -Carnivals, street festivals, nightclubs and vibrant spontaneous gatherings. There can be nothing more joyous than enjoying an evening of electrifying dance, live singing and music by a group that comes straight from the heart of Havana. Sitting in a packed auditorium in the city of London, in a miserable wet evening, Ballet Revolucion transported its audience to warmer and livelier climes. Ballet Revolucion is a Cuba based company of young talented dancers trained at Cuba’s top conservatoires and they are back at the Peacock theatre after a highly successful run last year.

Ballet Revolucion presents a spectacular evening of highly energetic and dynamic dance performance accompanied by an ensemble of very talented live musicians and singers. The dance technique used is a very clever amalgam of ballet, contemporary dance and modern hip hop set against soundtracks of live popular hits by artistes such as Enrique, Shakira, Santana Ricky Martin, Beyonce and Prince under the direction of Osmar Salazar Hernandez

The dancers are handpicked from amongst the best young performers of the country. They have their roots deep in the Latin American and Spanish dance styles. The finish of their movements and their raw energy deliver an adrenaline high to the audience. The cast of twenty one dancers all very fit, athletic, maintaining perfect shape, performing with intense passion and unbelievable athleticism speak of the unrivalled dancing talent in Cuba.The choreographers Aaron Cash and Roclan Chavez have done a splendid job in bringing out the essence of Cuban dance, though you can’t help feel the show’s internationalization to suit a global audience.

 

The musicians are adorable. Besides liking a performance, the audience can occasionally fall in love with the performers’ personalities. It’s the musicians’ and singers’ joyous demeanour on stage that made the audience join their hands to their beat when they played between the dance numbers. Each one of them were great performers with a special mention to Payhner Lasserie Echegoy on the drums. His short solo piece drew the audience together to a roaring applaud. He started off low, gradually picking up, reaching a point where Rayhner had a duel with his drums. Ending in his glorious victory throwing one arm in the air beating perhaps an invisible drum which he imagined in his frenzy.

Ballet Revolucion is a show worth seeing for its incredible dancers and great music. The music is pop, though sometimes veering into authentic Latino beats. It is in those moments that the show really comes alive, and a develops its own identity.

                                                                                       Protima Chatterjee