THE STAGE: National Dance Company Wales Autumn Tour Review

National Dance Company Wales Autumn Tour
Published Friday 23 September 2011 at 17:58 by Susie Wild

National Dance Company Wales’ Autumn Tour brings together the best of its trademark energy, individuality and inimitable style.

Split into three sections, the first uneven piece Quixoteland is a contemporary interpretation of the classic Don Quixote story. Choreographer Gustavo Ramirez Sansano brings Cervantes’ story alive with imaginative verve and quirky black humour. He uses the Minkus music from the original 1869 Don Quixote ballet and yet modernises the age old love story with swift, entertaining movement that doesn’t quite keep momentum. The set of 20ft high silver lances becomes the perfect backdrop for a clowning Cupid (Eran Gisen) to spread his magic and mischief, and later closes in to become cages for the two lovers and their dynamic duet.

After the interval, the second and most inventive piece Phantoms of Us lays things bare, quite literally, as the semi-naked dancers rhythmically move between the figurative solos and impassioned ensembles of one of the company’s own dancers. Eleesha Drennan’s compelling choreography combines well with a frisky jazz soundtrack and the bold, provocative projections of naked torsos from Welsh artist Sue Williams.

The finale choreographed by world great Ohad Naharin, is in two, gender-divided parts performed against Ravel’s well known score. The first Bolero is an electric female duet between show-stealer Annabeth Berkeley and an intense Neus Gil Cortes. The dynamic pair create a vital attack on the senses, the crescendo building into the tribal all-male Black Milk. Naharin strips back dance to its basic elements, avoiding extravagant sets and costumes. It is a risky philosophy, yet these international dancers speak Naharin’s language fluently and poetically and do the evening’s most challenging piece good service.

Certainly, with this final piece, National Dance Company Wales is living up to the high calibre statement of its recent name change.

Comments

PHOTO BLOG: Poetry at the Clocktower

We had a lovely day of poetry outside the Poetry Bookshop in Hay today and it stayed mostly dry too! Here’s me telling the audience some things about Bert (Roberto Pastore). Thanks Sian Lile-Pastore for the photo. And the rest of the photos as promised... Imogen Davies, Richard Davies, Niall Griffiths, Nigel Jarrett and Ifor Thomas took the early spots... (thanks to Christina and Ifor for these photos...) Richard (Parthian) & crowd Niall Griffiths reading Niall Imogen Ifor Thomas reads Nigel Jarrett reads Next up we had readings from Christina Thatcher, Abigail Parry and Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch, followed by readings from Ness Owen, Mari Ellis Dunning, Jemma L. King, Tracey Rhys, Patrick Jones, Roberto Pastore and, drawing the short straw to go last, yours truly. Abigail reads Abigail again Roberto Pastore reads Ness Owen reads Everyone loves Bert Tracey Rhys reads Patrick Jones reads Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch A shot of Christina in red in the crowd Stalls at Hay Castle ...

BOOK REVIEW: 'one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Welsh writing in English'

There is a wonderful extended review essay 'Ecological Literacy' by Steven Lovatt in the latest issue of New Welsh Review exploring recent books that seek to restore natural and cultural ecologies and recognise how the cultural nature of our landscapes is preserved in language. It offers an in-depth look at This Common Uncommon by Rae Howells, and here are three of our favourite snippets: "Rae Howells’ new poetry collection, This Common Uncommon , is a fierce and loving affirmation of the local, exemplifying the sort of care-full attention to the interdependence of people, other animals and plants that will be required if anything worthwhile is to be saved from the present ruin." "Howells confirms the evidence of her first collection, The Language of Bees, that she is a highly adept poet, possessing one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Welsh writing in English." "If West Cross Common is developed for housing, nobody can now claim ignoran...

GIG ALERT: Voicebox Wrexham

Celebrate 11 years... (11 YEARS!) of Voicebox with an absolute class creative cabaret of Wrexham's Arts Scene with the infamous Voicebox Open Mic with your host Natasha Borton! This month we have a very special takeover with Parthian Books. Parthian is an independent publisher based in Cardigan, Wales. Since its foundation in 1993, Parthian has published some of the best-known works of contemporary Welsh literature. Parthian's motto is “A Carnival of Voices in Independent Publishing”. Monday 11th November at Rough Hands Tap, Wrexham Entry is £5 (£3 concessions) Doors: 7pm Open Mic 7:30 - 8:30 Susie Wild - 8:45 - 9:15 Patrick Jones - 9:15 - 9:45 Penblwydd Hapus Voicebox Headliners: Susie Wild is author of the poetry collections Windfalls and Better Houses, the short story collection The Art of Contraception listed for the Edge Hill Prize, and the novella Arrivals. Her work has featured in many publications including Poetry Wales, Ink Sweat & Tears and The Atlanta Review and...

Wildlife

Search This Blog