Rambert review, Sadler’s Wells: This triple bill is a very mixed bag
The contemporary dance company performs early works by Wayne McGregor and Hofesh Shechter, along with a new hip-hop influenced piece by Marion Motin
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rambert’s new triple bill is a statement of intent, and a very mixed bag. The company’s new director, Benoit Swan Pouffer, combines Marion Motin’s new Rouge with revivals and breakthrough works by Wayne McGregor and Hofesh Shechter. Like the company’s upcoming season, it mixes British and international, Rambert’s own past and new directions. In practice, it is Shechter’s work that lifts the evening, giving it physical power and dramatic weight.
Motin has a background in both hip-hop and commercial dance – something Pouffer showed an eye for as director of US company Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Yet Rouge is high on noise but short on content, relying on basic rock gig staging and a handful of moves and confrontations.
It starts with a stage full of dry ice, with more smoke curling from the hat of guitarist Ruben Martinez. The seven dancers are just visible through the fog, slumped on the floor. They rise, only to fall again, collapse after collapse, until at last they fall into each other. The costumes, by the splendid Yann Seabra, are a wild mix of layers, fur coats and sportswear, strings of pearls and smeared lipstick. When the dancers twist into shoulder stands, their pedalling legs are barefoot, in spiked heels or cowboy boots.
When at last Motin gets them on their feet, they strip to simpler layers, get into each other’s space, fight or line up, heads bobbing to the beat and to Judith Leray’s aggressive strobe lighting. The performances are tireless, but the material is desperately thin.
Wayne McGregor’s PreSentient was created for Rambert in 2002. Danced to Steve Reich’s triple quartet, it’s a busy mix of braced partnering and super-flexible poses. It’s performed with full-bodied commitment.
Made in 2007, Shechter’s In Your Rooms already shows a potent mix of theatre, politics and visceral movement. As a voiceover describes chaos and order, we see flashes of the dancers, often cutting against the description. Dancers move from driven, focused unison to individual vulnerability. The musicians watch over them from a high platform, playing Shechter and Nell Catchpole’s mix of beats, strings and unsettling chimes.
Chasing each other across the stage, one couple suggest both playground games and something more sinister. Another couple cling to each other with desperate, tender clumsiness. “Let’s start again, I can do better,” the voiceover says. There is an embarrassed pause. “…no, I can’t.” At their most obsessive, Shechter’s dancers are still painfully human, funny or panicked or scarily intense.
Box office 020 7863 8000. Tour dates from rambert.org.uk
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments