dance

Mette Ingvartsen’s Skatepark, Sadler’s Wells East

by Luisa De la Concha Montes

Last summer, with four years of on-and-off skateboarding experience under my belt, I keenly tuned in to watch the skateboard showcase at the 2024 Olympics. I remember feeling envious as I saw the skaters stylishly dropping from huge concrete bowls. I mentally returned to the Level in Brighton, where I spent many hours unsuccessfully trying to land a trick, surrounded by familiar faces and the intense smell of weed. There was a huge gap between my memories of skateboarding and the perfectly smooth bowl on the screen. It was numerical and structured; too polished from what I knew as skateboarding. I turned my computer off, incredibly proud of Arisa Trew, Hiraki Cocona and Sky Brown, but feeling slightly detached. How did a sport that started as a form of protest (the legend says that skaters in L.A. would break into rich people’s houses to drain their pools and use them to skate) turn into a $4.8 billion business?

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The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady, The Barbican

by Zahid Fayyaz

Based on the 1963 album by Charles Mingus, this production transferred from Shoreditch Town Hall after a run last year. The dance/theatre production set entirely on the Barbican stage – the audience join both the Clod Ensemble and the Nu Civilisation Orchestra on stage for the show. With the space done up as a jazz club, the audience sits and stands around the dancers and the musicians during their performance.

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Journey of a Refugee, Stanley Arts

by Laura Kressly

In the Stanley Arts bar, Kassi, Ali, and Daphne hype up the audience for the arrival of a group of refugees. They’ve organised a welcoming party but plans change when only one person, Zain, arrives. He’s initially unenthusiastic about being the centre of attention. With some coaxing after hiding the main performance space, he shares his journey from Sudan using puppetry, dance, and narration. The promenade family show is inclusively crafted with striking design, but doesn’t romanticise his journey or patronise family audiences.

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Preview: Malevo, Peacock Theatre

by Archie Whyld

What an honour to be invited to residence of the Argentine ambassador on Belgrave Square for the UK premiere of South American dance sensation, Malevo. After being treated to a glass (or two) of Malbec from Vistalba of the Mendoza region of Argentina (characterised by subtle hints of ripe cherry and more complex notes of leather, tobacco and black pepper, it was both delicious and moreish), I was suitably primed for this high energy, intricately choreographed, blast of Malambo passion.

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Harvest, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by Laura Kressly

How do our jobs change our bodies? What is the choreography of work? What is the relationship between farming and dance? This two-person dance asks these questions through multiple styles from different countries. The rhythms of agriculture and cycles of growth also inform the speed, energy and movement qualities of the ever-evolving piece.

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Lucy and Friends, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by Laura Kressly

Lucy McCormick, performance artist extraordinaire and queen of the grotesque, starts off this show dressed in a felted tree costume. It calls to mind an out-of-place, awkward child in a school play unsure about what to do, but still enthusiastic. This is an appropriate start to the show’s premise: McCormick wants to put on a cabaret but doesn’t have any friends who could work on her show, so she drafts the audience in to help.

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Another Lover’s Discourse ليه خلتني احبك, VAULT Festival

by Laura Kressly

What is love? Riham Isaac wants to know, so she turns to music, old films, interviews, and religious and secular iconography to find out. She in turn shares a collection of ideas of what love is, isn’t or what it might be. The result is a highly visual, multimedia cabaret presenting an international, era-spanning collage of love and romance.

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The Art of Saying Goodbye, VAULT Festival

by Diana Miranda

A beautiful exploration of love and nostalgia, Elsewhere Production’s debut show follows a group of flatmates who shared and cherished many moments together and have since had to part ways. The storytelling weaves together contemporary dance, physical storytelling and poetry. Through lyrical, movement-led sequences, a captivating ensemble of seven captures the audience, creating a tranquil yet powerful atmosphere.

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Rain Pours Like Coffee Drops, VAULT Festival

by Diana Miranda

Amidst VAULT Festival’s craziness, The Motion Packs’ movement-led work casts a contemplative spell, causing reflection on the effects of having obsessive, work-driven lives. This one-man physical theatre piece brews slowly, with contemporary dance accompanied by a soundscape combining poetic audio clips, instrumental scores led by the eerie resonance of a piano, and calming sounds of nature. The show has English and Welsh versions, and I experienced it in the latter. While the Cavern’s acoustics and a poorly-equalised volume make it difficult to understand the poetry, the dreamlike soundscape and a soft, unhurried voice create a comforting aural experience, even for non-Welsh-speakers.

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