Review: BALLET CENTRAL 2023, Sadler's Wells

As programmes go, it was a good'un for Ballet Central at the Lilian Baylis Studio on 2 June. A satisfying mix of historical, modern and zeitgeist repertoire for graduate students to get their teeth into.

The historical comes in the form of two works by Frederick Ashton: The Two Pigeons (1961) and Monotones I (1966). Ashton is renowned for being extremely hard to dance; considering this, the performers did well. 

Monotones 1 is basically a study of épaulement - very Ashtonian - but the épaulement offered felt a little one dimensional in action, needing more torsion and length. The lucky trio had live music played by none other than Philip Feeney! But the use of an electric piano was less successful. I also missed the headpieces I've seen used before - alien in style, they give the piece even more otherworldliness. 

The Two Pigeons was the big love pas de deux moment, with the young couple offering safe, assured partnering and gusto throughout. However, the emotional aspect of the work didn't feel evident enough. I also wanted more of the necessary fragility in the bird-like movement mannerisms. 

The modern offering is Mirror, Mirror (2014) by Michael Pink; his take on the Snow White narrative, with music by Philip Feeney. 

There's skill involved choreographically, but it often felt overwhelmingly relentless, making one crave moments of stillness or suspension. The same was also true for the score. Pink overcomplicates things with some phrases reading more wrestling than challenging. Regardless, the dancers offered ballon and finished as best they could. 

Blind Optics by Darshan Singh Bhuller is an original, engaging work. Abstract projections and good lighting design taking the purposeful choreography to even greater heights. Big, strong, expansive dancing is the name of the game. Earthy, organic floor work giving major (Martha) Graham vibes was successful; moments focusing on unnecessarily high leg extensions, less so. 

Dextera by Sophie Laplane (2019) takes inspiration from the Pygmalion myth; sculptor falls in love with sculpture, subsequently informing the movement and relationships. Fundamentally it's about manipulation shown through the male dancers manhandling the females. Initially it reads like Coppélia, then ragdolls, then pieces of meat, but the piece lacked an attention-grabbing element.

Closing was Morgann Runacre-Temple's The Queue. Structurally there's a lemming effect - the cast following each other with limited thought or purpose, and then ABBA comes in from nowhere. There was lots of dancing, but somehow still a difficulty in highlighting movement themes and motifs.

Overall, the execution of the pieces was without issue; this says a lot about the graduate students themselves, and also the way they've been trained. Yes, there's always work to be done…but isn't that half the fun? 

Ballet Central was at the Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells on 2 June

Photo Credit: Drew Forsyth