As Cadogan Hall celebrates its twentieth year, Ballet Nights celebrates its first, in what was billed as a ‘concert’, even if it had a bit too much in the way of recorded music to fully justify that label. No matter – in pushing the boundaries and providing a unique dance experience, the series revels in differentiating itself from the crowd. Interestingly, the exit poll opinions from other theatregoers (concertgoers? dancegoers? balletgoers?) were somewhat varied. Some thought the whole thing from start to finish was phenomenal, whilst others had their preferences. But there was a general acknowledgement that the aim of the series to provide audiences with a variety of performances was realised.
I don’t think I’ve ever thought about Ballet Nights as a variety show before: again, it doesn’t quite fit the bill, aside from having a compère (Jamiel Devernay-Laurence). As ever, each act is kicked off by Viktor Erik Emanuel at the piano, tackling some intricate and complex pieces – I’m not going to pretend I know much at all about Ballade no. 1 in G minor, op. 23 by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), suffice to say it has its own Wikipedia page, the details of which, for obvious reasons, I will not regurgitate here. All I will say is that it is a delight to listen to.
Some repeat performances gave Ballet Nights regulars some familiarity with pieces like ‘Set Fast’, presented by students from the Rambert School of Ballet & Contemporary Dance, choreographed by Grace O’Brien. The piece was about being fixed in position, although being dancers, they weren’t fixed in position for very long, and as it progressed it came across (to me, at least) to be more about not straying too far away from one’s roots, because one will always, whether by default or design or both, be drawn back to them one way or another. The Act One closer, the pas de deux from Act II of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, performed by English National Ballet’s Sangeun Lee and Gareth Haw, had an elegance and sophistication to it that even out of context drew the audience in and oozed with grace and beauty.
The piece I was most interested to see in its fullness was The Four Seasons, of which only the ‘Summer’ section was performed (and choreographed) by Sarah Jane Taylor and James Wilton, varied in pace and structure, and hugely energetic. It is meant to portray atoms bubbling away prior to the Big Bang, though one might be forgiven for thinking this was an imagining of the expansion of the universe itself, such was the potency of the performance.
As a standalone piece, If, which borrows heavily from the poem of the same name by Rudyard Kipling, was quite sublime, with Alexander Fadayiro, who has danced with the Royal Opera and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, and Jonzi D, the founder of Breakin’ Convention, a hip hop theatre company based at Sadler’s Wells, coming together with a fusion of dance and spoken word. It might have been too overly obvious for some – the dancer pauses just as the speaker talks about pausing, though there is something about looking before you leap both metaphorically and, especially for a dancer, quite literally. I would actually like more of this sort of collaboration between dance and poetry, though of course there should always be a place for dance to transcend any language barriers.
Nashville Ballet, founded in 1986, took the time and effort to come to London – their first overseas performance for some years. Leto, performed by Sarah Pierce and James Lankford, has a contemporary feel to it: Lankford supports Pierce but her character is not at all vulnerable or in need of a man to come along and save her from some calamity or other. Their fluidity and flexibility goes with the music, Jeux d’eau, a piece for solo piano composed by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). The title doesn’t translate well into English, referred to as ‘Fountains’ or ‘Water Games’ but the music essentially attempts to emulate the sound of running water.
The final piece, Fortitudine, translates from Latin as ‘with fortitude’ or ‘with courage’ – it is the motto of a Highland Scottish clan, Clan Macrae. Whether the piece’s choreographer and performer, Steven McRae, is technically part of the clan or not, I couldn’t possibly say (the Royal Opera House website has him down as an Australian dancer). Dressed in a kilt and tap shoes, it seemed almost inevitable the slowdowns and (deliberate) hesitations would sooner or later give way to an explosion of rapid tapping, resulting in a crowd-pleasing crescendo. McRae did not disappoint.
Ballet Nights has come a long way since its first edition. The idea of having a compèred evening was somewhat hampered back then by microphone failures, and it is no wonder, given how smoothly the sound and lighting worked in the sixth edition that in the series of thank yous towards the end of proceedings, the one for the technical teams had by far the largest applause. A highly enjoyable and brilliantly executed programme: long live Ballet Nights!
Review by Chris Omaweng
Ballet Nights returns for another unmissable programme in the ballet calendar featuring world-class dancers, emerging artists, modern masterpieces, new creations, legacy works, live music and spoken word at a brand new location for the series, Cadogan Hall.
This programme celebrates the coming together of live music and dance, continuing the new tradition of uniquely compèred evenings of classical ballet, neoclassical, and contemporary dance presented up close and without compromise.
Steven McRae World Star Principal of The Royal Ballet
Charlie Siem International Music Star
Sangeun Lee & Gareth Haw Stars of English National Ballet
Joy Womack American Ballet Star of Stage & Screen
Jonzi D UK MC, dance innovator & spoken word legend
Julia Conway & Miguel Angel Maidana First Soloist & First Artist of English National Ballet
James Wilton Dance National Dance Awards Critics Circle Nominated Best Independent Company
Constance Devernay-Laurence Amazon Prime & Former Scottish Ballet Principal
Pett | Clausen-Knight National Dance Awards Critics Circle Nominated Best Independent Company
Viktor Erik Emanuel Ballet Nights House Concert Pianist
Jamiel Devernay-Laurence Compère
BALLET NIGHTS 006
The Cadogan Hall Concert
4 September 2024
