Revelations and Awakenings

For Rambert Dance Company, it was the shaky timing and off-kilter lines of the world premiere of Monolith, choreographed by Tim Rushton. For Ailey 2, it was the technical requirements of Revelations that were beyond the capabilities of the young company.

The Rambert programme opened with their tour’s title work, Awakenings, choreographed by Aletta Collins. It is a choreography based on Dr Oliver Sack’s studies of patients with encephalitis lethargic, a type of sleepy sickness. Though intriguing to see Collins’ development of jerky movement and disconnected gaze, the most redeeming feature is the style of walks the performers use to exit and enter the stage. At present it feels like an introduction to a longer investigation.

Next is the aforementioned Monolith. The most technical of the works, Monolith tried too hard to be a modern dance piece – ballet vocabulary dropped very precisely and obviously into moments of parallel legs and floor work. More than a nod to Nijinsky in that the movement was executed Grecian-style, sideways to the audience, seemingly at odds with the vertical nature of the title and set. The latter was a little confusing if not impressive: four vertical plinths, surely it begs to be titled Quadrolith? This piece requires much rehearsal, but the responsibility could lie with the choreographer, the rehearsal director or the dancers themselves. But can the audience insist on technical perfection based solely on Rambert’s reputation?Perhaps artistic integrity could be deemed more important had the work not been so bland.

Finally Cardoon Club, a Pina Bausch-esque setting with clichéd nods to George Balanchine and Bob Fosse. This work effectively created an atmosphere of an exotic cabaret house, but failed to include any kind of relationships between those who were in attendance at this Club. It proved that some (not all) of the dancers can actually move their hips , yet they did not seem to be actual people, merely representations or symbols of the style that would be present. The gaudy set design worked in a grotesque fashion.

Ailey 2, the ‘younger sibling’, graduate version of Alvin Ailey Dance Company, presented four works in their first tour of the UK. Opening with The External Knot, the structure of Troy Powell’s work became clear after seeing Revelations, the final offering on the bill. Despite boasting a clear narrative, the work itself is a series of unconnected duets, solos and group works. A common motif were several ballet lifts executed in unison, however every couple laboured to execute the lifts in various non-synchronised ways. The men were strong and attempting some individuality, the women robotic and at times weak.

Fana Tesfagiorgis performed an excerpt from Splendid Isolation II to sublime perfection. Simple and enchanting, this was a tantalising taste of the whole work. The use of the folds and falls of the dress were hypnotising, captured by the fluidity and elegance of the dancer, holding court over the whole space as she drew the audience in with each drawing in of her dress.

The Hunt seemed to be a crowd-favourite, with six men engaging in the masculine ritual and power of hunting. The choreography hinted at Polynesian movement, with interspersed ballet lifts and lines, yet not quite reaching the intensity of Black Grace in its glory days. The powerful bow was the most exciting part: the men were able to really let loose, obviously elated to be free of the technical shackles of the choreographed movement.

Revelations allowed the audience to finally see the smiling teeth of the female performers, their enjoyment and enthusiasm for the piece real and uplifting. As it should, since it is the piece they trained to perform, as graduates of the Ailey school they are no doubt loyal acolytes of the choreography. Admittedly this piece was somewhat a let down, after hearing it was an energising and uplifting piece of work. The unrelated sections of choreography and the feeling that one had seen it all before (though this most likely came first) off-set the wonderful use of African American song and gospel music, and the incredible use of the outstretched palm as a significant motif for the unison group. Almost out-of-place classical lines and lifts, interspersed with pelvic thrusts and moments of power made its intention confusing – at times beyond the technical capabilities of the cast; what it lacked in cohesion the cast made up for by slowly building their enthusiasm and boiling over into a crescendo of joy and passion.