It's almost a year since it was officially announced that Christopher Marney was going to resurrect Harold King’s popular London City Ballet after a hiatus of almost 30 years. The excitement and anticipation has been palpable, thrilling even, as the team set off on a new chapter of their journey in July starting in Portugal followed by UK dates, an extensive tour to China and a New York season at the Joyce Theater coming directly after this Sadler’s Wells run.
In an auditorium filled with both familiar and new faces, I think it’s safe to say that Marney and his company have succeeded on every level in reinvigorating, restoring and respecting all that was good about its previous incarnation while injecting new life and ideas into an extraordinary venture.
With a programme title of Resurgence, it opened with archive images and film, movingly put together, reminding us gently of how much the company brought to the art form. Ashley Page’s 1993 Larina Waltz launched the dance, in a seamless transition from past to present. We were instantly engaged in the delights of pure classical dance, crisply executed by an exemplary cast. While it may have come across as a series of straightforward enchaînement, Page’s exceptional musicality and deft reimagining of basic classical steps makes this a fast-paced, adrenaline inducing rush of fiendishly challenging choreography.
Following some more archive film including clips of King being interviewed alongside LCB’s patron, Princess Diana, we were treated to a revival of Kenneth MacMillan’s Ballade. Performed only once in 1972 in Lisbon by The Royal Ballet’s New Group, it is a big part of Marney’s vision for LCB to present works by great choreographers that have been lost. On the evidence of this work for four dancers, it is a worthwhile and justifiable decision. On this occasion danced by guest star Alina Cojocaru and three men, Alejandro Virelles, Joseph Taylor and Nicholas Vavrečka, it is a lyrical, flirtatious but simplistic window on a social situation. Set to Fauré’s Ballade for Piano and Orchestra, it was inspired by MacMillan’s first encounter with his future wife, Deborah and depicts three young men each vying for the woman’s attention. Beautifully danced, it seemed to epitomise innocence and awakenings.
Arielle Smith’s Five Dances to John Adams’ John’s Book of Alleged Dances, was sheer pleasure from start to finish. For six dancers, this was a display of sometimes virtuosic, sometimes relaxed, highly inventive contemporary choreography that astutely reflected the rhythms and indeed shapes, of the music. Ellie Young and Joseph Taylor were outstanding in their mellow but intense duet. Arthur Wille is so charismatic, with such a silky command of technique, it was difficult to tear one’s gaze away from him at any stage throughout the evening. In the third dance, where he was solo, it was over all too quickly and I craved an encore. Definitely one to watch. With its surprise ending and well-balanced dynamic of speed and fluidity, Smith’s distinctive vocabulary invites a joyous response.
After the interval, the second movement of MacMillan’s Concerto was an apt continuation on a theme of musical interpretation and the blissful consequences of timeless beauty. Originally created in 1966 in Berlin, it was so fresh it could have been made last month. Of the many interpreters I have watched over the years, Isadora Bless and Taylor once again, fared exceptionally well. She possesses exquisite line and grace in abundance; he partnered her as if she was made of porcelain, so attentive and a tower of unwavering strength.
The programme finished with Marney’s Eve – a piece that explores the Serpent’s relationship with Eve rather than focusing on Adam. With a haunting, original score by Jennie Muskett it felt like stepping inside a work of surreal art. Visually stunning and curiously evocative, Cira Robinson as Eve and Álvaro Madrigal as the Serpent, were mesmerising while leading us on a sensual journey of touch, sound and vision that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was like being caught in an alternative world. As Madrigal inveigles his way under Robinson’s skin they are joined by a corps of Adams and Eves. The ending is unforgettable as Adam and Eve are raised above the group.
With beautiful costumes for each ballet (Emily Noble and Stevie Stewart) and breathtaking lighting design by Andy Murrell, the evening is full of hope and wonder, that so much has already been achieved. The dancers themselves are individuals of huge merit and talent and with an artistic director who operates with such care and integrity, the return of LCB can be deemed welcome, timely and a runaway success. It's so good to have them back.
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