Maggie Foyer: Unique Americans in London

Autumn is here, but before the resident companies start their season it was the turn of the United States when two unique companies, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo came to London.

The ’Trocks’ as they are affectionately known, are a haven for the odd-sized and naturally exuberant; an all male company, they celebrate the camp in ballet with enough technical expertise to prevent the show going completely off the rails – although at times it teeters dangerously close. The pointe work is, shall we say, solid. It lacks the finely arched foot we are accustomed to in more ordinary companies but the balances, pirouettes, and even fouettes are executed with verve and precision.

Le Lac des Cygnes is their signature work and Olga Supphozova (alias Robert Carter) is the perfect expression of Odette in this unique rendition. Her less than fragile build in no way lessens her feminine charm while her comic touches are neatly timed. A lyrical promenade in penchee terminates in a teeth-clenched grin while an aesthetically pleasing balance in arabesque is trumped by a flat footed ‘duck’ walk. The ’big swans’ are –well, big and the ‘little swans’ (also big) were a quartet of pure joy.

The Pas d’Action from Petipa’s Harlequinade played on the stereotype of effeminate ballet boys and butch ballerinas as partners mixed and matched and it was the tutu clad ballerinas who hoisted their slight partners up into shoulders lifts. Ida Nevasayneva’s (alias Paul Ghiselin) sepulchral looks were ideal for The Dying Swan. The straying spotlight belatedly focuses on the swan, profusely shedding feathers, her spindly legs more like strands of cooked spaghetti than classical bourrees. Her curtain calls overran the length of the solo and were almost another performance.

Walpurgisnacht closed the programme in a bacchanalia of bad taste. Carter/ Supphozova, the Bette Davis of the ballet, fought off all contenders in a malicious battle to win Bacchus and whipped off a series of fouettes to celebrate amid a corps of chiffon clad nymphs. The wonder of large men on pointe, fluttering outrageous eyelashes, and still capturing the magic of ballet makes this company a hit with the general public and ballet aficionados alike.

At Sadler’s Wells, audiences enjoyed a very different American experience in the company of the Ailey dancers. Robert Battle who will be taking over the company from Judith Jamison in 2011 offered two new works. The percussive score of The Hunt created a hypnotic ambience allowing the six men to embed their movements in the rhythm, interpreting Battle’s choreography with primal energy. In/side to Nina Simone’s Wild is the Wind was a deeper and more sensitive choreographic exploration and elicited a tremendous performance from Jamar Roberts.

Ronald K. Brown’s Dancing Spirit performed to a medley of jazz greats was a very welcome new work. The choreography is woven as skilfully and intricately as the musical threads and the dynamics are balanced with theatrical acumen. This was true jazz, by turns mellow, vibrant, smooth and sensual, danced by one of the few companies equipped to perform it. The dancers rose to the occasion; notably veteran performer Renee Robinson.

Is there any more can one say of Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations? More than just a choreographic work this is the African American Ode to Joy. The company dance it with unwavering commitment and passion. I Wanna be Ready and Sinner Man come across as personal statements generated deep in the soul and Rocka my Soul never fails to bring the audience to their feet and dancing in the aisles.

Next at the Wells was Daniel Proietto repeating his highly acclaimed solo in Russell Maliphant’s  AfterLight. He is a dancer of extraordinary grace and fluidity. Maliphant has tailored the work to exploit these qualities as well as Proietto’s ability to launch into a spin so organic and swift that he seems more like a skater or aerial artist. Performed to Satie’s Gnossiennes in a timeless, borderless space it is a little gem. I was sad therefore that Maliphant has chosen to expand the solo into a much longer trio. The ideas that had worked so well in essence lost their taut energy as the dynamics dissipated into a rather ordinary work.

Maggie Foyer
1 Oct 2010