The latest iteration of Ballet Nights marks the second anniversary of this excellent initiative, and much of the credit for its continued success must go to Jamiel Devernay-Laurence. He curates the programmes with an eye to showcasing new talent as well as securing the services of some of the world’s greatest dancers. Inevitably this results in mixed standards, but there is always plenty to enjoy.
This time there was a slightly more subdued atmosphere in the audience than heretofore, almost certainly due to the tube strike, which made it extremely difficult to get around London this week. The reduced audience cheered as loudly as they could, but there was no disguising the substantial number of empty seats.
As has become customary, the two halves of the programme were each opened by virtuoso pianist Viktor Erik Emanuel; anyone who can take on the third section of Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit has my sincere respect, and he played flawlessly alongside violinist Michael Bochmann in Wieniawski’s Polonaise.
There were two Ballet Nights debuts. The first, two dancers from Ballet de Jerri (the national ballet company of Jersey C.I.) was particularly intriguing. I had no idea what to expect and it was lovely to discover the highly proficient Ombline Noyer and Donovan Délis-McCarthy performing Footsteps by Garrett Smith, a choreographer I have admired for many years who is building an excellent reputation worldwide. They brought depth of form to Smith’s beautifully fluid movement, and the double work was especially impressive in its seamlessness and intuitive connection.
The second debut was a Flamenco virtuoso performance by Andres Barrios (dancer) and El Yiyo, a colourful character with a magnificently bravura piano technique and a sweet singing voice. Between them they had composed and designed their piece as well as performing it, and their engaging personalities clearly resonated with many in the audience who cheered them vigorously at the conclusion.
Rambert School is often represented at Ballet Nights, and on this occasion three young women danced a piece by their college mate Omar Toussaint. Inspired by the short film Jibaro by Alberto Mieglo, Sirens is described in the programme as aiming to explore the complexity of these “misunderstood” creatures, who may not be as threatening as they are portrayed. The choreography could not fully bring out these ideas, but it was well-constructed and danced beautifully by Keavie Holliday, Morgan Phillips and Chloe Hurn.
Femina, by the contemporary group Ekleido, got off to a slow start. Six dancers lined up on stage with their backs to us, dressed in unflattering baggy glittered shirts and skirts over black foundation garments, did not seem to reference the stated inspiration for the piece: the overlooked lives of women and LGBTQ+ people during medieval times. Once the dancing really got going it was all very engaging and fun, using pulsating music that drove the choreography to greater and greater heights of creativity. That medieval inspiration never made itself felt, but this was a thoroughly entertaining and invigorating piece, performed with tireless energy and fearsome athletic ability.
I liked Infant Spirit, created by Marco Goecke as a tribute to Pina Bausch after her death. Here it was danced with charisma by Andrew Cummings, whose intensity drew us in to the twists and turns of the expressive choreography. The music, by Antony and the Johnsons, included a charming song about falling leaves which Goecke used to portray various human kinds of falling.
English National Ballet principals Gareth Haw and Sangeun Lee gave an outstanding account of a pas de deux from Slingerland by William Forsythe, a ballet with which I am not familiar but which, on this evidence, carries all the hallmarks of Forsythe’s innovative creativity and his innate musicality.
There was a strong presence from the Royal Ballet. Denilson Almeida danced Calvin Richardson’s lovely version of The Dying Swan, which suited Almeida’s athletic, full-bodied dancing and his beautifully articulated arm movements. A new solo, Flux by Jordan James Bridge, was danced by Caspar Lench with the finesse and purity we are increasingly associating with this young dancer, and who most certainly has a bright future.
Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov, probably the reason most of us were there, brought the evening to a close with pure style and class in the solo and pas de deux from Balanchine’s Apollo. Muntagirov’s growth in this role has been a delight to follow, and as I watched Kaneko’s beautiful approach to the choreography and her sincere understanding of the style, I thought how much Balanchine would have loved her. For me there is no greater praise than that.
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