Review: LOVETRAIN2020, EMANUEL GAT, Sadler's Wells

LOVETRAIN2020 by Emanuel Gat started promisingly: atmospheric lighting, shafts of layered space and glimpses of new romantic courtiers bedecked in asymmetrical, louche garbs by Thomas Bradley reminiscent of Vivienne Westwood boded well.

I'm afraid to say the piece peaked too soon and continued into a slow, verging on arduous, downward descent into the choreographic version of vacuous gibberish.

The experience reconfirmed what we already know: just because you have the right ingredients, doesn't mean one is guaranteed a delicious end result.

Gat offers adroit dancers, heaps of movement and enjoyable (ish) music, but somehow the overall effect had almost zero impact on me. There was a moment; a solo to Shout (by Tears for Fears, who provide the entire soundtrack) where I thought something's happening - an interesting offering of femme, articulate preening emphasised by the movement of one of Bradley's generous skirts…but it didn't last, or go anywhere tangible.

We'd seen a similar vein beforehand by other cast members; strutting and sashaying for no obvious reason, to no particular place.

The soundtrack amplified the generic pop music template i.e. everything is in 4/4, and tires quickly, as no obvious dynamic shifts take place to energise the listener's experience.

Gat can work space, organise groups proficiently and offer his dancers movement they clearly enjoy executing; largely skilled, pedestrian vernacular - think skipping, step kicking, wannabe symbolic gesturing and performative Voguing (without the prerequisite relevance).

Yet, the communication of the overall work lacks balance, context and cultural underpinning. Even nothing needs equilibrium…otherwise it becomes relentless and unintelligible.

As the work continued, the cast removed more clothing and became happier about what was happening - and this behaviour made my experience feel increasingly removed from the work itself and the proposed intention.

At the end the audience applauded generously and many jumped to their feet, which begged the question: what did they see that I did not? When I engage positively with a piece my reaction is visceral. LOVETRAIN2020 posed a complex, and ongoing conundrum: why, considering all of the evident, strong components did this work do nothing for me? Watch this space.

LOVETRAIN2020 is at Sadler’s Wells until November 18.

Photo credit: Julia Gat.