Russell Maliphant, Silent Lines tour

[Jan McNulty]

I was at The Lowry last night to see Russell Maliphant's latest work Silent Lines and I absolutely LOVED it!

 

The work is short - just over an hour - but I could not feel short-changed!  It is for 5 dancers (three men and two women), with the lighting/projections almost as a 6th dancer.

 

The work opened in near darkness with the five dancers and the stage covered in light projections that reminded me of looking at the refracted light in a swimming pool.  They moved as a sensual swarm holding hands.  It was a very slow section but it never dragged.  Eventually four of the dancers disappeared into the gloom leaving one of the lady dancers doing the most beautiful sensuous and fluid solo highlighted on her own on the dark stage.

 

The work consisted of a number of solos, duets and trios, sometimes faster, sometimes slower.    There was lots of spinning and turning (occasionally reminding me of film I have seen of whirling Dervishes).  The upper body movements were particularly beautiful.  The lighting highlighted the dancers or sometimes just part of the dancer.  The movements were supple and fluid with no jumping or partnering anywhere in sight.  The soundscape was engrossing, sometimes with a driving beat and sometimes very lyrical.  The piece ended with the swimming pool effect projection and it rounded the evening off beautifully.

 

The dancers were incredibly supple and lyrical and basically fantastic.

 

I found this piece totally mesmerising and if it was on at the Lowry again tonight I would be back there like a shot.

[Kate_N]

I saw Russell Maliphant's latest show last night - it's on a regional tour, from their base in East Anglia. I would urge anyone who can get to see one of the performances, to go!!!!

 

https://russellmaliphantdancecompany.com/shows/2019/silentlines

 

It's only an hour long, but it is one of the most intense hours I've experienced recently in the theatre, and I see a lot of performance. It is utterly beautiful and mesmerising, and such beautiful pure dance. NO storytelling - just an investigation into what bodies are capable of doing - and yet there are no cheap tricks. Maliphant's signature style - really beautiful use of spirals and extended arms, is matched with a video artist's projections onto the dancers' bodies, to make for quite a thrilling and moving experience, about what the human body can do, and is capable of.

 

Not ballet as such, but Maliphant & Fouras both trained and danced with the Royal Ballet. And it's just gorgeous.

 

 

[alison]

Thanks very much, Kate - and thanks for setting foot (no pun intended) outside Doing Dance, which as we were discussing recently doesn't always happen that often.  I'll look out for it: I've always liked Maliphant's choreography - and dancing.  I think it's on at Sadler's Wells at some stage.

 

(And just so everyone's clear, the forum's name may be balletcoforum for legacy reasons, but other forms of performance dance are equally welcome )

[Kate_N]

And thanks for merging my post with Jan's thread, Alison. I do see a lot of dance, but I don't always get the time to post about it here ...

 

I first met Maliphant 20 years ago when he was artist-in-residence in a university department I was working in at the time. He was doing some of his early experiments with MichaelHull, which resulted in that extraordinary piece, Two, made for Dana Fouras. I saw an early version of that in our departmental theatre space. I know enough about the technicalities of lighting to know how difficult and experimental the work that Maliphant & Hull do together is. And Silent Lines is further experimenting with the interplay of light & bodies.

 

But like Jan, I could have sat through the piece a second time straight away - although I doubt the dancers could have managed that! None of them stopped for pretty much the whole hour.

[alison]

1 hour ago, Kate_N said:

And thanks for merging my post with Jan's thread, Alison.

 

Ah, that wasn't me, but I'm sure whoever it was will appreciate the thanks  

[AnneMarriott]

We saw this at South Hill Park, Bracknell and I echo all the positive views above. A mesmerising piece performed by remarkable dancers.

[alison]

I see there are stalls tickets available at the "half-price" ticket booth in Leicester Square for this evening's performance at Sadler's Wells.

[AnneMarriott]

2 minutes ago, alison said:

I see there are stalls tickets available at the "half-price" ticket booth in Leicester Square for this evening's performance at Sadler's Wells.

Grab a ticket - it's great!

[Kate_N]

Do see it - it’s only an hour but an intense experience. 
 

[alison]

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone: I'm very glad I went, although perhaps it's not the best thing to be going to see with a migraine hovering, because of some of the lighting effects.