www.list.co.uk/dance
A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES Classic scenes from the silver screen COO
Golden moments from classic Hollywood films are the inspiration for this patchy production from US choreographers Gallimaufrey & Greene. While the intention is to provide an accessible entry point for theatregoers who are less familiar with contemporary dance. ironically it is in the passages where the choreography is allowed a free reign that the piece connects most immediately with the audience.
Faithful. loving recreations of From Here to Eternity‘s steamy beach scene and the ballet from The Red Shoes are enjoyany familiar. but pale in comparison to the originals. Much more compelling is the company's take on Casablanca and Joan of Arc, which wisely attempts to capture the spirit of the original works in a specifically dance language. This is most moving in the Casablanca seguence. when a male and female performer throw uncomfortable shapes. stumbling towards each other and only briefly connecting while a fellow dancer croons ‘As Time Goes By'.
(Allan Radcliffe)
I C Chambers Street, 0845 260 727 2, until 25 Aug (not 77), 7. 75pm, £8.50—E70.50 ($650—$950).
CHILDREN OF THE KHMER Cambodian song and dance om. This is as inspiring as it gets. An ensemble of young talented performers from Cambodia delivering perfectly orchestrated dance routines that are soulful, funny. enthusiastic and set against a powerful musical backdrop.
It starts off on a mellow note with
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incense. candles. prayer and two beautiful girls performing a hypnotic routine of gracious curtsies and delicate hand movements. From there. a fuller cast of boys and girls (whose ages are impossible to ascertain on stage) entertain through jigs and dances performed skillfully with wooden blocks. bamboo baskets. catchy chants. wide smiles and a keen sense of humour.
Much of the choreography explores Cambodian tradition - planting rice in the paddy fields. wooing the opposite sex. monkey rivalry (complete with hilarious masks and body soratching). Underpinned by a beautiful percussion score that changes pace perfectly with the action. Children of the Khmer is a sweet taste of Cambodia that makes you feel good about life. (Susan Wright) I The World @ St George '3 West. 07527 050265. until 24 Aug, 4pm. 5372 (E 70; children E5).
THE JUDGEMENT
OF PARIS
Can Can, corsets and high camp I...
With sculpted. Harlow-platinum wigs. gorgeously gilded corsetry and tongues in cheeks firmly set to ‘high camp‘. this riotous piece of dance theatre by Company XIV merges Baroque dance forms. Can Can and contemporary ballet to music by Offenbach and Marilyn Monroe. It's hyper-engaged. everything-but-the- kitchen-sink storytelling reminiscent of fellow on-off Broadway companies TEAM and Axis.
The Greek myth of the first ever beauty contest. where Paris chooses Aphrodite (re-imagined as a voluptuous Weimar brothel madame) in exchange for the love of Helen of Troy. becomes a messy. eroticised meditation on the construction of femininity and the blonde bombshell archetype. The overall point of the show disappears in places. but it's told with so much zing and gusto. by
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Two stunning performances. One unique snow.
Festival Dance
FLAMENCO, FLAMENCO! coo. TODOS LOS GATOS SON PARDOS 0000
Spanish flavour at the Fringe
While they have a shared heritage, these two shows take radically different approaches to Spain’s national dance.
Ricardo Garcia’s Flamenco, Flamenco! features four virtuosos, with the emphasis as much on music as on dancing. Ricardo’s acoustic guitar is mellifluous and aggressive, while percussionist and bassist Roberto Benson pushes the melodies along with a fractured throb. Dancer ‘La Clara’ steps in and out of the rhythms, performing the recognisable stomps and swirls with confidence and finesse. Danielo Olivera croons intensely, building the show to a melodramatic climax and witty encore. An absolute treat for any audience, it strips away tourist clutter and presents a vibrant tradition in a modern manner.
Arrieritos are aiming for a different audience with Todos Los Gatos Son Pardos. Through six ensemble dances by six choreographers, it meditates on friendship, passion and bravura by adapting flamenco’s signature movements and atmosphere. Elements of tango flutter past, juxtaposed with floor work that would be familiar to Martha Graham fans: an uneasy tension is sustained across the hour. Sometimes, the earthiness of flamenco’s stamping reduces nuance to exhibitionism, but when the staging works with the choreography - as in the piece performed beneath flickering street-lights - it is tenderly evocative. (Gareth Vile)
I Flamenco. Flamenco}, Pleasance Dome. 5:36 (5:350. until 24 Aug (not I l. 78), 8.20pm.
I Todos Los Gatos Son Pardos. Universal Arts Theatre. until .78 Aug. 7. ISpni. $72—$74 (538—5.? 70).
dancers so comfortable With their bodies that they can find sensuality in battle as well as Surprisingly tender love scenes. that the audience is
carried along. whooping. (Kirstin lnnesl I Rocket «11? De/narco Roxy Art House. 087/ 7500077. until 25 Aug (not 77/. 8. l5p/n. 5‘9—5,‘I() (£7748).
i' 1-! Am.) 2008 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 47