BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET - On Your Marks! (mixed programme) - Birmingham, June 2022

[Jan McNulty]

I was in Birmingham for both performances on Saturday.

 

The performances started off with the brand new Interlinked, choreographed by Juliano Nunes.  Looking at the press photographs it seemed to me that he had, perhaps, been initially influenced by Serenade but it was so much more than that.

 

I loved the score with its cinematic scope and it was interesting seeing the men also dressed in the floaty tutus.  I thought the choreography was just sublime.  There was a beautiful duet for Tzu Chao and Brandon.  Tzu Chao was particularly expressive, eloquent and moving.  There were various duets, the ballet ending with another glorious one for Yaoqian and Brandon.  I wanted this piece to go on forever and I loved it just as much on second viewing as I had on first.  I hope this work gains a permanent place in the BRB rep.

 

I first saw Lazuli Sky at Birmingham Rep in October 2020 and really enjoyed it.  I enjoyed the piece even more on the bigger Hippodrome stage.  The centrepiece was a duet for Brandon and Yu Kurihara that I found very beautiful and lyrical.  Again I hope this work has found a permanent place in the BRB rep.

 

And so to the final piece - 24.  I had seen Acosta Danza performing 12 a few years ago and thought it was a pile of poo.  It is now a double pile of poo with twice the number of dancers and still at most 5 minutes of recognisable dance in a 35 minute piece.  For the bulk of the time the dancers walked and ran across the stage throwing what looked like half filled 2 litre water bottles at each other.  These water bottles had far more choreography than the dancers.  I sincerely hope that this piece is never revived and I even more sincerely hope that this piece isn't a way forward for BRB!

 

So 2 hits and a huge miss!

[Fonty]

The Guardian seemed to give a huge thumbs up to 24.  Doesn't look like my sort of thing at all. 

[Jan McNulty]

1 minute ago, Fonty said:

The Guardian seemed to give a huge thumbs up to 24.  Doesn't look like my sort of thing at all. 

 

Absolutely not my sort of thing either Fonty!  I'm not in any way against new/different styles of choreography (I actually started watching contemporary dance in the late 1970s) but I do prefer to actually see some choreography!

 

If this piece was supposed to be celebrating the Commonwealth Games by showing dancers' athleticism then Sir David Bintley did it a thousand times better with Faster in 2012!  

[alison]

"For the bulk of the time the dancers walked and ran across the stage throwing what looked like half filled 2 litre water bottles at each other."

 

This sounds awfully familiar, from way back when.  Who choreographed it?

[Jan McNulty]

Jorge Crecis "choreographed" this piece.  It had previously been performed by Acosta Danza as 12.

[Emeralds]

3 minutes ago, alison said:

"For the bulk of the time the dancers walked and ran across the stage throwing what looked like half filled 2 litre water bottles at each other."

 

This sounds awfully familiar, from way back when.  Who choreographed it?

Jorge Crecis. 

 

I saw the trailer with it. Sounds like something that’s presented to tie in with the Commonwealth Games, but at other times, I would rather they performed something more akin to ballet or dance, rather than just entertainment. 

[Jan McNulty]

1 minute ago, Emeralds said:

Jorge Crecis. 

 

I saw the trailer with it. Sounds like something that’s presented to tie in with the Commonwealth Games, but at other times, I would rather they performed something more akin to ballet or dance, rather than just entertainment. 

 

For me it wasn't even entertainment!

 

The trailer, all 38 seconds of it, shows the majority of what I might have classed as dance moves!

 

https://www.brb.org.uk/post/24-rehearsal-trailer

 

I've got to say that the dancers did look as though they had really enjoyed performing in this.

[trog]

I saw the trailer and decided not to book. I'm not a fan of watching people run around for no apparent reason.

[zxDaveM]

looks thirsty work - good job they have plenty of water there

[Sim]

2 hours ago, trog said:

I saw the trailer and decided not to book. I'm not a fan of watching people run around for no apparent reason.

Same.  It's bad enough that many contemporary pieces have to include the dancers running around in a circle for no apparent reason, but this one seems to have taken that to a new level!!