Rambert Dance Company
Nov. 1st, 2008 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhythmaningRambert Dance Theatre were in Edinburgh this week, and since I try to see them whenever I can, I went along.
They performed three pieces, and I liked the first, disliked the second, and raved about the third.
The first was Eternal Light. Danced to a series poems of remembrance set to music by Howard Goodall, this was quite beautiful but studied. There were several different pieces; one – the Margaret Fry words I tried to speak at my mother’s funeral – brought tears to my eyes; others were thoughtful; another – “Belief” – I thought was beautiful. The voices were excellent – a choir with soloists.
The dancing was very good, and I loved bits of the set. The duet in Lachrmosa dies illa (the Margaret Fry setting) was beautiful; using a large mirror in several pieces worked very well, particularly when the effect of the mirror was tempered by the lighting; and the finale – an allegory of the eternal light itself – was quite stunning.
Still, kitsch diamante crosses flying in whilst the dancers interpreted In Flanders’ Fields seemed so camp during what should have been a very emotional moment, and added nothing.
Then came Carnival of the Animals, set to Saint-Saen’s overused music. This was lightweight, gimmicky whimsy; the music sounded clichéd, the dance irritated and lacked energy: at times t tried to literally interpret the music, and it didn’t add much. No, I didn’t like this!
But I loved the third piece, Anatomica 3: this had everything that Carnival lacked: it was fast, energetic and athletic – and the dancers looked like they believed in what they were doing: they quite literally threw themselves into it. It too started with a piece of whimsy – a Mrs Merton lookalike dressed as a pink air-stewardess, moving slowly and precisely, then joined by the whole company dressed in the same way – but this gave way to the company going through a whole set of complex, athletic routines. They filled the stage with movement, throwing each other around with perfect timing and precision, and jumping and falling of a tall skijump-like structure – stunning.
The music was a series of percussion pieces, which worked very well in the setting. Yes, I just loved all of this last performance: it was entertaining and exciting, making up for what Carnival lacked.
The whole performance was accompanied by a signer for deaf dance fans. This I found quite odd: as well as signing the poems in Eternal Light, he also signed the music in between and in the other dances, and the silences. I didn’t know music could be signed: he beat out the time using different gestures for loud or soft beats, he gestured the increasing and decreasing volume, and he indicated the instruments being played by the movements of his hands – piano-playing, violin-bowing and so on. In Anatomica 3, his intense movement meant at times he was almost playing air-drums.
I’ll admit I found it a distraction – especially in Eternal Light, which had several quite darkly lit pieces (the signer was spotlit, and hence stood out). But he also kept my interest during Carnival, which the music and dance didn’t!
They performed three pieces, and I liked the first, disliked the second, and raved about the third.
The first was Eternal Light. Danced to a series poems of remembrance set to music by Howard Goodall, this was quite beautiful but studied. There were several different pieces; one – the Margaret Fry words I tried to speak at my mother’s funeral – brought tears to my eyes; others were thoughtful; another – “Belief” – I thought was beautiful. The voices were excellent – a choir with soloists.
The dancing was very good, and I loved bits of the set. The duet in Lachrmosa dies illa (the Margaret Fry setting) was beautiful; using a large mirror in several pieces worked very well, particularly when the effect of the mirror was tempered by the lighting; and the finale – an allegory of the eternal light itself – was quite stunning.
Still, kitsch diamante crosses flying in whilst the dancers interpreted In Flanders’ Fields seemed so camp during what should have been a very emotional moment, and added nothing.
Then came Carnival of the Animals, set to Saint-Saen’s overused music. This was lightweight, gimmicky whimsy; the music sounded clichéd, the dance irritated and lacked energy: at times t tried to literally interpret the music, and it didn’t add much. No, I didn’t like this!
But I loved the third piece, Anatomica 3: this had everything that Carnival lacked: it was fast, energetic and athletic – and the dancers looked like they believed in what they were doing: they quite literally threw themselves into it. It too started with a piece of whimsy – a Mrs Merton lookalike dressed as a pink air-stewardess, moving slowly and precisely, then joined by the whole company dressed in the same way – but this gave way to the company going through a whole set of complex, athletic routines. They filled the stage with movement, throwing each other around with perfect timing and precision, and jumping and falling of a tall skijump-like structure – stunning.
The music was a series of percussion pieces, which worked very well in the setting. Yes, I just loved all of this last performance: it was entertaining and exciting, making up for what Carnival lacked.
* * *
The whole performance was accompanied by a signer for deaf dance fans. This I found quite odd: as well as signing the poems in Eternal Light, he also signed the music in between and in the other dances, and the silences. I didn’t know music could be signed: he beat out the time using different gestures for loud or soft beats, he gestured the increasing and decreasing volume, and he indicated the instruments being played by the movements of his hands – piano-playing, violin-bowing and so on. In Anatomica 3, his intense movement meant at times he was almost playing air-drums.
I’ll admit I found it a distraction – especially in Eternal Light, which had several quite darkly lit pieces (the signer was spotlit, and hence stood out). But he also kept my interest during Carnival, which the music and dance didn’t!