Review: NEW ENGLISH BALLET THEATRE: GENESIS DANCE PROJECT AND NEW WORKS, Sadler's Wells

New English Ballet Theatre is in its 13th year as a company and presents a mixed programme at the Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells that's also a rather mixed bag…

Baroque Encounters by Daniela Cardim opens the show. From the beginning I find the full red skirts unhelpful regarding trying to see the movement, and the wearing of pointe shoes doesn't seem to impact the choreographic choices. However by the end of the piece I was thinking "I'd like to see this again, and if I did I'm sure I'd see even more in the work", and one can't really go wrong with Bach.

It's rare nowadays that titles actually mean anything, but Baroque Encounters is exactly that. Seven dancers interweave and have moments and meetings that feel like court dances, and could easily be taking place in a castle during some distant century.

Cardim has developed an interestingly stylised port de bras that suggests historical referencing, and the choreographic language comes even more alive in the duos and trios. A particular trio for two men and a woman has pace, original patterning and undulating motifs that stay with you once they've gone.

The cast do a good job, but need to listen to their choreographer more. Cardim is aiming to do very detailed, specific work, and at times the odd dancer takes liberty with the precise language and makes it too loose to suit their performance needs. I'd like to see more of Cardim's work, and hope it stays demandingly original.

All in Passing by Peter Leung follows, and offers a more obvious, contemporary feel. The original electronic score by Nicholas Robert Thayer includes strong moments, but also long periods that feel on the monotonous, repetitive side.

Leung's language communicates as a successful hybrid of classical principles and modern approaches. He has a gift for making movement connect and flow, and also features verticality in his work which can often be lacking in modern dance.

The style of floor work feels transitory and mobile which is a positive, but I'd keep musing over possible editing, dynamic range and structural build. Also the costuming feels a bit too polished verging on try hard - I think the piece would benefit from a more pared down look.

There's definitely something in the air with ballet and rock music collaborations of late. First we had Birmingham Royal Ballet and Black Sabbath, and now it's the turn of NEBT with the Genesis Dance Project. Genesis as in Phil Collins.

Sometimes it's the right thing to say less if all you have to share is negative, and that's definitely the case here. However, the majority of the Genesis Dance Project verges on a car crash both choreographically and in execution, and is absolutely not the standard of work I've come to expect to see at Sadler’s Wells.

The only real saving grace is the work of Kristen McNally. She offers a group number to "I Can’t Dance" with a minimal, isolation feel à la Bob Fosse, and a duo to "Invisible Touch" which constitutes rigorous choreography.

The movement language feels like a combination of Merce Cunningham-esque repetition and tilt, 80s semaphore, and a side order of Peter Crouch's robot. The couple have an intimate, magnetic, physical proximity throughout, as well as a deadpan approach to the performance - and it felt like I was reborn.

I love dance, and want companies to succeed. Especially something like NEBT, which clearly values creativity and positive working environments. But the Genesis Dance Project isn't realising their mission to "represent the versatility and significance of ballet today" - in fact, I'd go as far to say it's doing the exact opposite.

New English Ballet Theatre: Genesis Dance Project and New Works is at Sadler's Wells, Lilian Baylis Studio tonight (3 November)

Photo Credit: Ash 

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