We were treated to three very different ballets, the second being the most experimental. Of course, Liz is pretty aufait with all things Rambert, having studied them at Thomas T. I am like the new girl at school, having seen them a few times now & I admit that sometimes I love them & other times, I'm completely lost & baffled. I liken the feeling to going into a modern art gallery. Sometimes I'm in awe & loving the experience. Other times I just don't get it! Ballet Rambert can be like that for me.
My favourite of the three was the third & final ballet. Sadler's Wells has two series of Ballet Rambert ever year, the first being in May, the second in November. It's very cutting edge contemporary dance which is always thought provoking, always fresh and always executed to perfection. Like anything truly modern and unique, there are moments of sheer brilliance coupled with moments when you're not quite sure whether you love it or hate it. It's a form of English ballet that challenges your mind every second and gives you the chance to question what you truly enjoy about dance and ballet.
Rambert typically leaves the show-stopping performance until the end. The final dance, Itzik Galili's A Linha Curva was jaw-droppingly good with dramatic energy, beating drums, voices, touches of humour & involved more dancers than we'd seen all evening. It was the highlight of my night. It's samba-inspired music, great lighting, heavy-duty percussion leaves you wanting to see more from the 28 athletic style dancers who pump limbs on the stage with breath-taking energy. It was definitely my favourite of the might.
Not surprisingly, Liz enjoyed the second dance and the most challenging performance of the evening. I love pretty & elegant, she loves interesting & unusual. No surprises there really. In complete contrast to "A Linha Curve", Mark Cunningham's "Rainforest" uses an electronic score with very large reflective silver pillows by Andy Warhol floating around on stage. I admit, I spent more time watching the silver pillows and wondering how they managed to stay up, than watching the dancers, (though, I didn't admit that to Liz!) When one floated off the stage and up towards the roof, I'm pretty sure my head wasn't the only one slowly tilting backwards to look skywards! I'm happy because it was Liz's favourite, what more can I say.
The 3rd dance, performed first, was Olivier Award-winning "The Art of Touch". It was light and airy with fast footwork played out to witty little sonatas making it easy to watch and very enjoyable.
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