How did we get here? review: Mel C takes on a new form with conviction

This austere but heartfelt piece starring the Spice Girl mixes pure dance with an interest identity

Mel C in ‘how did we get here?’ (Camilla Greenwell)

From Spice World to the bare sets and bodystockings of contemporary dance: Spice Girl Melanie C takes on a new form with complete conviction in Jules Cunningham’s how did we get here?. It’s an austere, uneven piece, but dancers Cunningham, Harry Alexander and their starry guest have a shared focus and camaraderie.

Cunningham, who first made their name as a dancer with the Merce Cunningham company, mixes pure dance and an interest in identity. They make no concessions to the world of showbiz, though fans might be reassured when Mel C gets the first solo sequence. How did we get here? started and ends with questions: performers in the studio, working out the different ways they move and feel.

It’s danced in the round, with the audience on stage as well as in the auditorium, gathered around a shiny black floor. Stevie Stewart, formerly of fashion label Bodymap, dresses the three dancers in dappled lycra, blue-greens for Cunningham and Alexander, with Mel C in sunset orange. Nina Simone sings “Stars” as the lights come up, a disco ball sending a whirl of lights around the stage.