Latest news with #RoseInternationalDancePrize
The Guardian
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The week in dance: Our Mighty Groove; Encantado
'You Are Welcome,' reads the sign, in bright red letters, above the door of the newly opened Sadler's Wells East, on the fringes of the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, east London. Even on a rainy winter's evening, that lighted sign fulfilled its promise. Architectural practice O'Donnell + Tuomey have provided the redeveloped Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with a warm embrace of a red-brick structure; inside, an airy foyer with bright artwork and its own mini stage. Six dance studios upstairs provide equally generous and well-proportioned working spaces for professionals as well as students at Academy Breakin' Convention and the Rose Choreographic School. So far, so very good, though on a bitterly cold opening night, with an immersive show, it might have been an idea to offer a free cloakroom; you could sense the goodwill evaporating as people rummaged for their debit cards. It was best to check coats in because Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu's Our Mighty Groove, first seen at the original Sadler's Wells in Islington 12 years ago, had been expanded to show off the capabilities of 550-seat auditorium – and to get everyone dancing. The show begins with the audience seated, as the Mighty Groove nightclub gets ready for business. Inspired by the choreographer's own experience when clubbing in New York, the mood is friendly, as the harassed club owner (Dani Harris-Waters) gets his feet stuck on the drink-sticky floor, and the bouncer (expansively gifted Cache Thake) prepares to propose to his girl. Warring divas, a shy first-timer and smart girl groups all turn up ready to party to a sensational, Ghanaian-flavoured score from Kweku Aacht and Warren 'Flamin Beatz' Morgan-Humphreys. In a cast of 19, the professional dancers of Uchenna Dance, particularly Shanelle Clemenson, inevitably made more impact than the local dancers recruited to make up the numbers, but the whole thing had energy and style. It felt slightly lost, though, on a stage the size of the one at Sadler's Wells East (which replicates the dimensions of its sister venue). In the second half, when the seats were retracted and the audience walked through the nightclub entrance to do their own two-step as the action unfolded on surrounding raised platforms, the show took off. It was great fun. Over at the other Sadler's Wells, meanwhile, the mood was more rarefied as Lia Rodrigues's Encantado, the final entrant in the new biennial Rose International Dance Prize, was unveiled. For a long time, its performers unroll colourful floor coverings in semi-darkness; then they crawl beneath them, naked. As the piece progresses, the dancers begin to move, wrapping the cloths around them in different configurations, becoming characters, animals, strange creatures. It had joyful moments but it was a long watch at 60 rigorous minutes. This is dance at its more theoretical – not very accessible at all. The ultimate winner of this £40,000 prize was Larsen C, by Christos Papadopoulos. I saw it only on film (which is how it was chosen for the live final), where its detailed shapes and floating steps are beautiful in closeup. It looks amazing, but on stage, in crepuscular darkness, its slow-moving progress must have been challenging. The contrast between Our Mighty Groove and Encantado bothered me. The danger of a dance prize modelled on the Turner and the Booker is that it will have the same divisive effect, creating a separation between 'serious' work and more popular endeavours. Dance in all its variety has to welcome everyone. Star ratings (out of five)Our Mighty Groove ★★★ Encantado ★★★
The Independent
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
An Untitled Love review: Romance takes centre stage in Kyle Abraham's celebration of African American life
Kyle Abraham's An Untitled Love kicks off the new Rose International Dance Prize on a note of community, joy, and sheer beauty. To an R&B soundtrack by D'Angelo, 10 dancers meet, pair off, gossip, and hang out. As individual stories weave in and out, Abraham builds a bigger picture of a culture. It's the finest work I've yet seen from Abraham, and it makes a strong start for the Rose Prize. Designed to give dance its own equivalent of the Booker or the Turner, the award has strands for emerging artists as well as established names like Abraham. After 10 days of prize performances, the winners will chosen by a jury including PJ Harvey and Arlene Philips. Danced by his own company, AIM by Kyle Abraham, An Untitled Love sets a high bar. The choreography draws on social dancing, contemporary, hip hop, and everyday gesture. It adds up to a luscious quality of movement, an easy virtuosity. A shared glance turns into a dance, or puts someone on their dignity. In one gorgeous scene, four women sit on a sofa, reacting in unison to the world about them: shrugging one shoulder, clasping hands over a crossed knee, a turn of the head. The timing is deft and witty, those rippling shoulders and fluid torsos make the dance glow. Dan Scully's simple set evokes places people meet: a sofa and houseplants, different lamps for club or living room. The soundtrack throws in snatches of conversation: Catherine Kirk has an entire offstage monologue as she gets ready for a date she's not sure about, zipping up dress after dress as she questions her own commitment. Some of these lovers have an easier time of it. One couple lock eyes early, awareness of each other colouring how they move. A group of men give a friend well-meant dating advice; another man pursues a woman, having failed to notice that she already has a girlfriend. While the focus is romance, the sense of love feels much broader. Abraham touches on racism, but refuses to centre it: there's an element of defiance in the happiness of this work. Celebrating the Black American community he grew up in, he's both sharp-eyed and fond. Characters can be petty or insecure, without losing depth. An Untitled Love feels deeply humane: its worldview is as generous as its lovely, flowing moves.
