Something About Others

Review by Hannah Thomas | 16 Aug 2009

With the average ticket price at the Festival soaring to a whopping £12, it’s not surprising that Fringe-goers are reluctant to stray outside their comfort zone. But in a bid to persuade this year’s audiences to “Give Dance A Chance”, Dance Base has priced 10 diverse dance shows at a mere five pounds. Nottingham Youth Dance’s Something About Others is a highlight of this programme, offering four challenging modern ballet pieces in a 45 minute show.

'Something About Others', an otherworldly ensemble piece performed to Berlioz’s dramatic Symphonie Fantastique: 'Dream of a Witches Sabbath,' finds four female dancers violently twisting and turning into the arms of their trenchcoat-clad partners, stretching as if to inhabit the space around them. This theme of special exploration is developed in 'Frontier', where the solo exploits of two dancers culminate in a flowing duet, and in the experimental 'Sidewinding', a solo piece expertly performed by Benoit Egloff. Repressed sexuality is the inspiration for 'Out of Darkness', an erotic ensemble piece set to pumping electronic music.

Richard Weylock and Jaime Thomson’s choreography is superb. The intricate routines are particularly well-expressed in solos and duets performed by the company’s five leading dancers. But the standards slip when the company dances in formation, as the pairs fall slightly out of sync and some of the lifts appear strained. Another minor gripe is the white t-shirt inexplicably worn by a dancer in 'Out of Darkness' that jars with the naked torsos of his fellow performers and proves a distraction.

Nevertheless this is a confident performance from an exciting company of exceptionally talented young dancers.