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English National Ballet: Voices of America, London, April 2018


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On 4/13/2018 at 22:55, bridiem said:

I'm afraid that I didn't enjoy this bill much. I thought that Fantastic Beings was much better than 2 years ago - still too long, but visually striking and beautifully danced, so by far the most enjoyable work from my point of view. I found Approximate Sonata very tedious and unilluminating - lots of extensions and stretches from the couples, but conveying (to me) nothing, either through the choreography or the music. And I thought that the black backdrop going up and down periodically and revealing the word 'YES' was so dated and pretentious. However the work did introduce me to Sarah Kundi in the 4th Sonata - I haven't (knowingly) seen her dance before and she was terrific, infusing the steps with her own style and wit.

 

I was pleased to finally see The Cage - I found it very powerful and original and I loved the music, but it was also (inevitably) very unpleasant. I also couldn't help thinking that (even though they're supposed to be insects) if the genders of the participants were reversed, there would - rightly or wrongly - currently be vocal protests about the theme. Katja Khaniukova and Fabian Reimair were tremendous as the Novice and the Man. Playlist (Track 1, 2) just washed over me - it seemed to be nothing more than a few standard elements of ballet vocabulary performed extremely well, often in unison or small groups, by a technically talented group of men to reasonably engaging music. But at least it was an upbeat ending to the afternoon.

 

ENB do look to be in great form - everything was danced with such skill and commitment. But I wouldn't choose to see any of the works again.

Bridiem. I haven't posted my thoughts on this programme. I don't need to as you have put it all here for me (although I saw a different cast). I will just say that I could appreciate the amazing skill of the dancers, but that gets tiring after a while. Like you, the only piece I could engage with was The Cage. Dispiriting night at the ballet.

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The Voices of America run at Sadlers Wells ended with a 5 minute 'dance-off' encore from the men. A fun way to finish things off - hopefully not literally.

 

In the afternoon, Connie Vowles (ex RBS) made her debut as The Novice in The Cage alongside Jia Zhang's powerful Queen. Along with Alice Bellini, who debuted on Thursday afternoon, she is relatively new to the Company (her second year; Alice's first) and it is really 'quite something' that they were cast, if only for one performance each. I actually preferred them and Katja Kaniukova in the role to Jurgita Dronina, partly because their own youth made their emergence from the chrysalis and some of their exploratory moves feel very real.

 

Fantastic Beings was danced with enormous energy and commitment but, after 4 showings, I was still asking, "What's the point?" 

 

I warmed to Approximate Sonata but wish that it has been danced to music rather than sounds. Unfortunately, audiences didn't seem to 'get' the fact that the forgetfulness in the fifth pas de deux was scripted. Rather, the Cojocaru/Caley and Kanehara/Menezes pairings stood accused by many of losing their way. Rina Kanehara, Precious Adams, and Aaron Robison were the stand outs for me in this piece - although, of course, it was great to see Alina Cojocaru back on stage.

 

As for Playlist (Part 1,2) - ENB men: you were amazing!

 

The reviews for this programme have been very positive in the main but it has been frustrating that so many have concentrated on telling us about the works and, if they have mentioned the dancers at all, they have done so in the form of a list. Those types of critique could be written without seeing the show  and, for me, this quad bill was all about seeing the dancers dance.

 

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Playlist 1,2 would sit very happily in one of Sadler's annual Sampled programmes, where they serve up a mix of excerpts from different companies and genres. The stalls seats are taken out and standing down there is cheap. I can imagine it going down very well with that usually very lively audience. 

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4 hours ago, Lynette H said:

Playlist 1,2 would sit very happily in one of Sadler's annual Sampled programmes, where they serve up a mix of excerpts from different companies and genres. The stalls seats are taken out and standing down there is cheap. I can imagine it going down very well with that usually very lively audience. 

What a fantastic idea! Hope someone takes note!

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