Review: FOUR - YOUNG ASSOCIATES, Sadler's Wells

It can be a mistake to get overexcited. If then disappointed, the reality is tough to take. Case in point: Four by the Young Associates at Sadler’s Wells.

The Young Associates is a two-year choreographic programme run by Sadler’s Wells. During the tenure they receive “financial support, mentoring and the opportunity to train with leading industry figures, as well as the chance to make and present work at Sadler’s Wells.”

I saw the performance in the Lilian Baylis Studio Theatre last year, and had high hopes for the main stage experience, but overall I found the show dispiriting.

The last work TOASTED by BLUE MAKWANA was the most sophisticated by quite a stretch, and even though not my favourite genre, Makwana shows clear skill in relation to structure, use of space and dance language development. The cast of five evoked female boxer empowerment with both major sass and moments of sensitivity.

The stage space was broadly used, and Makwana communicates content that's a fusion of street dance and codified technique. This hybrid challenges the dancers, allows them to show their skill set and acts as a platform for dance performance. I was engaged and impressed throughout. Also by the impressive lighting design by Amelia Hawkes.

Lights were a big deal throughout the night, as was loud music/noise. However, dance language as we know it was not. What would've happened if one of the pieces had used normal lights, traditional music and dance phrasing as its base set-up? Would a 2024 Sadler’s Wells audience have connected? Or would the “conventional” Young Associate have been laughed out of Islington because they weren't saying something edgy enough?

Does actual dance no longer cut it? This is something for the programme organisers to consider, as the overall offering was too similar in style and philosophical messaging. Dance is a broad church, or at least it should be, and it didn't feel the case at all.

I'm a fan of Tough Boys Collective, but DUG MEAT by Roseann and Sula isn't their strongest work to date. It offers major atmosphere through original production values; interrogative lights on moving tripods and punk-esque costuming, and though the content is brave in its exploration it doesn't quite come to fruition in the moment.

I also found the larger structure problematic. The beginning is a very slow burn, detailed but slow, and then goes immediately into a type of bedlam which feels jarring as the observer. A duel-focused duo offers intriguing interaction with dynamic level shifting and the animalistic flavour continues until the group of five transform into a pack of wild dogs. So yes, DUG MEAT goes somewhere, but doesn't offer the same level of idiosyncratic language that I've seen from the creative team before.

To Loss And Hope by Maiya Leeke is a confused piece that hasn't found its identity. The first section largely consists of wafting chiffon, and this just isn't good enough considering the context of the situation. The dance content develops but ends up feeling rather 80s, and not in the good way. Swing, rise, fall etc. There's a trio that screams creative task rather than anything else and more high voltage lighting and loud music with Kenny G vibes. Not for me.

Christ Alone by Elisabeth Mulenga starts well with a very theatrical feel, but then proceeds to go nowhere. The four characters are presented with clear, visual aesthetics, and weave in and out of the candle-festooned stage space with individuality, but the very basic language - repeated gesture if you're lucky - isn't anywhere near strong enough to support Mulenga's base concept. In the end, the whole piece communicates like horror-lite made accessible to the masses via eerie music and mad, manic facial expressions. And just when you can't take any more theatricality, two of the cast enter on stilts, roaming around with no obvious purpose.

One wants to be encouraging to young people, especially those at the beginning of their choreographic careers. But the situation can't be underestimated. This is the mainstage at Sadler’s Wells - hallowed ground - where the world's greats perform night after night. Creation isn't easy, it needs to involve risk-taking and success isn't guaranteed.

Four wasn't a win for me, and suggests those in charge; programme leaders and mentors need to have a hard think about what was produced and how it got there. I don't suggest a singular opinion is the correct one, but I do believe that all readings need to be seriously considered. I think the future of dance depends on it.

Four was performed at Sadler’s Wells 15 October 

Main Photo credit: DUG MEAT by Roseann and Sula - Photographer - Jack Thomson

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