Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – A rebooted LONDON CITY BALLET arrives at The Joyce with a program focused on British choreography

• By drediman
• September 18, 2024
• No Comments

This week, the New York dance season kicked into high gear with a number of high-profile openings (e.g., both New York City Ballet’s fall season and City Center’s Fall for Dance commence performances), including the London City Ballet’s arrival at The Joyce Theater. For all intents and purposes a rebooted company, London City Ballet has emerged a sleeker, slimmer ensemble, featuring young, fresh dancers that seem eager to grow as they embark on the next chapter of the storied company’s evolution (London City Ballet was formerly the resident company of Sadler’s Wells). The company’s program this week at the busy Chelsea dance venue is comprised of a quartet of U.S. premieres that put the spotlight squarely on British choreography, both past and present.

The thoughtfully balanced bill — which featured short film segments that gave the audience a sense of the importance of the company’s heritage — commenced with the elegant classicism of Ashley Page’s 1993 Larina Waltz. Set to the instantly recognizable waltz from Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin, the work bloomed with lovely ensemble work and unforced phrasing. The evening continued with Liam Scarlett’s emotionally rich Consolations & Liebestraum, which featured an excellent live performance of Liszt’s piano concerto of the same name by Luc Xu Cheng. Sensitively danced to emote romantic yearning and ache, the 2009 piece is wholly reminiscent of Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering in mostly favorable ways. The first half came to a close with a new work created this year by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Arielle Smith. Entitled Five Dances (the music is John’s Book of Alleged Dances by John Adams), the decidedly contemporary work — which was vividly danced — exuded an alluring elemental quality that basked in the thrall of pure movement.

After the intermission, the evening concluded with Christopher Marney’s aptly-titled Eve, an artful piece of dance theater depicting Eve’s fateful encounter with the Serpent. Set to Jennie Muskett’s evocative music, the piece — which was choreographed by Marney (who currently serves as artistic director) in 2022 and features striking Pilobolus-like stage pictures — endeavors to humanize and demystify the exchange between Eve and Devil. All in all, the revitalized London City Ballet had a strong showing, particularly impressive following the company’s lengthy 30-year hiatus. Throughout, the company’s current crop of twelve dancers performed with versatility and solid technical ability. Of particular note were Arthur Willie and Ellie Young, two young dancers of great potential in possession of considerable style and musicality.

RECOMMENDED

LONDON CITY BALLET
Dance
The Joyce Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through September 22