As the school year draws to a close, the vocational ballet schools present their graduates and pre-professional students in showcase programmes everywhere. English National Ballet School gave a cracking display at the Lilian Baylis Studio with the students currently on the Professional Trainee programme. This particular group come from all over the world to train intensively before embarking on their careers. As Viviana Durante bows out as Artistic Director of ENBS after five years at the helm, she must have felt pride in this mixed bill, which highlighted great versatility.
The performance opened with six well-known variations from big ballets for five women and one man. It’s tricky taking solos out of context, as the pressure and exposure is extreme and scrutiny is high on the agenda. The dancers did well under the circumstances, showing a strong aptitude in pirouettes. Clémentine Boullé dancing the Hebe variation from The Awakening of Flora was fluid and charming in this least flashy (but still challenging) solo. She proved herself later in the programme too.
It was, however, Jonah Glickman who raised eyebrows in his Talisman variation. Big jump, stretched feet, a spinner and exceptional flexibility – and as if that wasn’t enough, he ripped onto the stage with a larger than life personality. More of him later...
After a short pause, a specially commissioned work from dynamic duo James Pett and Travis Clausen-Knight (PCK Dance) allowed a large cast to strut their stuff (literally) in Programmed to Collapse. It’s the first time I’ve seen their choreography performed by dancers other than themselves – and heartening to report that it was every bit as good as one would expect. There were clear influences from William Forsythe and Wayne McGregor but they maintained their own distinctive style, utilising the whole ensemble and allowing each cast member a moment to shine.
Choreography was physically forceful, even aggressive. Extensions were whacked up dramatically, with a sense of power in every phrase. Duets and smaller groupings were occasionally calmer, but the pace never really diminished. The way the dancers threw everything they had into it was impressive. The music also gave the piece a rounded, full-blooded feel, composed by Pett’s brother Sean. A well crafted work that deserves to be seen again.
After the interval, and on a completely different page, was Arthur Pita’s Death Defying Dances, originally commissioned and premiered by BODYTRAFFIC in Santa Monica in 2016. Pita has a vast imagination, and it’s necessary to brace yourself for all the whimsical trappings of the unexpected and the seriously quirky. This is entertainment of the highest calibre. Set to songs by Judy Henske (1936–2022), the soundtrack oscillates between country and western, jazz and gospel, with Henske’s voice frequently pre-empting what we are to expect from the forthcoming song. It’s hilariously depicted with a varied dance vocabulary.
From songs such as Love Henry, Hooka Tooka, Wade in the Water, Empty Bed Blues and Danny Boy, the piece embraces idiosyncratic personalities and situations, the choreography mirroring this. It’s immensely good fun, the students seizing the characters wholeheartedly. Glickman excelled once again in the Danny Boy solo, but I’m reluctant to single out one performer in a cast packed with fascinating individuals. Yann Seabra’s stage designs also sealed its success, replete with psychedelic 1960s glory, truly a feast for the eyes. “Love Sucks” written across the floor said it all.
There was another dancer who caught my eye. Hailing from Dehli, Aayush Sharma started ballet in his late teens, and clearly has a great deal of natural facility. In both Programmed to Collapse and Death Defying Dances he displayed a warmth on stage that was very engaging. His classical proportions and command of technique bode well for an exciting future.
On the whole, a most enjoyable evening filled with fresh exuberance.
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