DANCE | PREVIEWS D A N C E
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WORLD PREMIERE BALLETBOYZ: THEM / US Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Sat 23 Feb
The first day of rehearsals is a challenge for every choreographer, standing in front of a roomful of expectant eyes watching your every move. For the past 18 years, BalletBoyz’ artistic directors William Trevitt and Michael Nunn have invited numerous dancemakers in to do just that; only this time, they’ve tried something a bit different. Instead of an outsider crafting the work, Them has been created by the company’s own dancers. ‘We, the artistic directors, have had an overview but
essentially the dancers devised the material based on tasks they were given or ideas they had themselves,’ explains Trevitt. ‘They’ve been really challenged by it. It’s easy to take for granted the effort and skill it takes to be a choreographer, but if you’re the person at the front of the room who has to get everyone onside, it takes a lot of self-belief.’ Working with just the title, and fragments of music from
composer Charlotte Harding’s new score, the dancers explored notions of ‘them’ and ‘us’ and blossomed just as Trevitt and Nunn knew they would. ‘We’d seen how creative the dancers are in rehearsals,’ says Trevitt. ‘And we always felt confident telling any choreographer that comes in here that they can rely on the dancers, because they have so many ideas, so much experience and are eager to contribute; so we just thought, let’s take it a step further and see what happens.’
Them will form a companion piece to Us, a 2017 duet by world-renowned choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, which he has extended for this tour to include six dancers. ‘Christopher’s duet felt like he had dropped us in the middle of a story,’ says Trevitt. ‘We wanted to know how did they get to that point? So that’s what we asked of him; to create what led up to it.’ (Kelly Apter)
ADAPTATION MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 5–Sat 9 Mar. Reviewed at Edinburgh Festival Theatre ●●●●●
It’s 23 years since Matthew Bourne first unveiled his take on the most famous ballet of all time. He’s gone on to sprinkle choreographic magic onto a host of other popular works, yet his name remains inextricably linked with Swan Lake. So when the posters for this revival proclaim ‘The Legend Returns’, it’s hard to disagree – this show really is legendary. Even in today’s increasingly tolerant society, a show that ostensibly puts a love story between two men centre stage, and receives a standing ovation, has to be applauded in more ways than one. Ground-breaking aside, Bourne knows how to cater for all-comers. For lovers
of the Ivanov / Petipa classic, enough remains to sweep you away: Tchaikovsky’s tear-jerking score, and aspects of the original choreography cleverly woven into the lakeside scenes. While those looking for a more mainstream night out can bask in two hours of well-dressed, witty entertainment.
As we journey from palace to ballroom, and nightclub to park, Bourne keeps his characters three-dimensional. When we see the prince dragged along to yet another dull opening by his ice-cold mother, we feel his loneliness. And when he falls in love with the Swan only to have his heart broken, we feel his pain in waves. The show may have evolved since 1995 but one thing has never changed: the phenomenal power of an entirely male corps de ballet of swans. Just breathtaking. (Kelly Apter)
94 THE LIST 1 Feb–31 Mar 2019
CONTEMPORARY JASMIN VARDIMON’S MEDUSA Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 21 Feb
Ask most people to describe the Greek myth of Medusa, and chances are eyes that turn you to stone and a serious case of snake hair will be their response. Lost to all but those who study further, is the reason for her anti- social behaviour: being raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple, with the latter turning Medusa’s hair and face into weapons. ‘There are lots of interpretations,’ says choreographer Jasmin Vardimon,
whose new work takes its inspiration from the myth. ‘Was Athena punishing her out of jealousy, or was it to protect Medusa so it wouldn’t happen again?’ Either way, Poseidon walked away scot-free: something Vardimon was keen to address. ‘One of the intriguing things is that this section of the story is almost forgotten. And in the #MeToo era, I felt it was the right time to re-imagine it, because victims being accused or punished is something that still happens.’
Seeing posters of Hillary Clinton depicted as Medusa during the 2016 US presidential election spurred Vardimon on. ‘I found that the myth of Medusa has been used throughout history to silence strong women,’ she says. ‘And they’re always presented as monsters, rather than victims. I wasn’t interested in just re-telling the story. It’s a poetic reflection on the myth but with wider social and environmental connotations.’ (Kelly Apter)