list.co.uk/theatre Previews | DANCE
CLASSICAL/CONTEMPORARY BALLETBOYZ: THE TALENT 2013 Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Mon 18 Feb
What happens on stage is but a brief moment in a dancer’s life. In the rehearsal studio there’s a whole host of fascinating activity we rarely get to see. Which is why, early on, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt decided to make video an integral part of their shows.
Former Principals with the Royal Ballet, Nunn and Trevitt struck out on their own in 2001, dividing their time between dancing and documentary making. Now that cutting a dash on stage has become a little harder (both are in their 40s), they’ve recruited ten younger male dancers to populate this new incarnation of the BalletBoyz, leaving them free to train the dancers, commission choreographers and video the process.
‘We use video partly to break the ice with our audience and
partly to give out a little information,’ explains Trevitt. ‘We like to introduce the dancers, and share some elements of the work early on, so people know more about who and what they are about to see.’ In this instance, it’s The Talent 2013, a double-bill of dance by Russell Maliphant and Liam Scarlett, drawing on classical and contemporary techniques.
‘Both Liam and Russell were trained as classical ballet
dancers and that immediately makes them fit into our ideas,’ says Trevitt. ‘We asked him to create an all-male piece, but to work just as he would with a room of men and women, so Serpent has a wonderful combination of masculinity and delicacy. Russell always works using the dancers’ response to tasks he sets them, and Fallen is no exception, so the work reflects our dancers’ many and varied skills.’ (Kelly Apter)
CONTEMPORARY DOUBLE BILL SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE: SECOND COMING/WINTER AGAIN Dundee Rep, Wed 20–Sat 23 Feb, then touring
The bright lights of a big city may not shine particularly brightly on Scottish Dance Theatre, but that’s never stopped it illuminating its own path. And now that new artistic director, Fleur Darkin has moved up from London to run the show, the Dundee-based company is nailing its international colours to the mast more than ever. For Scottish Dance Theatre’s first outing with Darkin’s name above the door, Los Angeles-
born Victor Quijada and Norwegian Jo Strømgren are on the bill. Those who recall Quijada’s last work for the company in 2003, Self Observation Without Judgement will know that his mix of streetdance and contemporary isn’t short on originality. ‘Victor’s work liberates streetdance from its usual clichéd formats: the battle or showcasing
virtuosity, and sets it free,’ says Darkin. ‘And his new work Second Coming has an unpredictable energy that engages the audience with the dancers.’ Strømgren is also no stranger to Scottish audiences, having played the Edinburgh Fringe with
his arresting show, The Convent. This time around, Strømgren has turned his attention to the coldest season, setting his work to Schubert’s Eine Winterreise. ‘Jo is a global choreographer whose works have shown in 47 countries and counting,’ says
Darkin. ‘He’s widely watched because he is a master of stagecraft, theatricality and comic timing, and his attention to detail in the design is spectacular. In short, he is an entertainer, and he creates entertainers of Scottish Dance Theatre’s dancers.’ (Kelly Apter)
DANCE THEATRE ALAN GREIG DANCE THEATRE: DO YOU NOMI? Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Fri 8 Feb, then touring
It’s a play on words, but for most people the answer to this show’s title is probably ‘no, I don’t.’ To fill you in, Klaus Nomi was a vibrant member of the New York music and club scene in the late 70s and early 80s.
Known for his striking falsetto voice and distinctive make-up, Nomi released a number of
singles and albums, until his untimely death from AIDS in 1983. Since then, both his name and back catalogue have disappeared into obscurity. But German-born Nomi’s life and work are about to be resurrected, in a co-creation between choreographer Alan Greig and theatre director Grant Smeaton. Do You Nomi? is the first outing for Alan Greig Dance Theatre, formerly known on the Scottish dance scene as X Factor Dance.
‘Grant and I both felt that Klaus had an incredible voice,’ says Greig. ‘And he looked really unique, with his painted white face and black lips. Klaus didn’t just stand there and sing into a mic, he played a character and blended lots of things together – rock, opera, pop, theatre, fashion, cabaret.’
True to Nomi’s legacy, Greig and Smeaton are also mixing things up by blending pure dance, scripted theatre, and dance and movement combined, recruiting two actors and two dancers for the task.
When it came to researching their vision, however, they found slim pickings. ‘There isn’t a lot
out there,’ explains Greig. ‘We could only find one documentary and the pop videos, hardly anything has been written about him. He’s a forgotten pop star, and in a way that’s what attracted us to him – it’s an interesting story, very much a rise and fall.’ (Kelly Apter)
24 Jan–21 Feb 2013 THE LIST 101
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