Goodness, what a treat – a whole glorious hour and more of your favourite bits of Bach, played on period instruments (or replicas) by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment as you recline on a beanbag in the stalls of Edinburgh’s lovely Usher Hall. And for one night only – what could be better? Well, what made it better was the music being interpreted on stage by a group of young dancers performing choreography by Kim Brandstrup.
Brandstrup is an old hand at this, from his early days at London Contemporary Dance School through to recent work for the Royal Ballet and innumerable international dance companies. He has flirted with Bach before but said he found the major pieces too dense. Until, that is, he discovered hip hop… This current project is the product of the OAE’s residency at Acland Burghley School, a state comprehensive in north London where many of the young dancers are or had been students. Joined by some professionals and led by Tommy Franzen and Deavion Brown – both high-ranking professionals – they made a lively and likeable troupe, joyful in jeans and joggers.
At the heart of the collaboration is the unlikely conjunction of Bach’s inherent rhythmic structures, so apparent in his work, and the insistent moves of hip hop and street dance – which, as any young person will tell you, that generation have in their very bones: their ‘internal vibrating vibe’.
The hall was packed for this world premiere, scheduled as part of a more relaxed approach to programming aimed at encouraging families and younger watchers – hence the beanbags (which proved surprisingly comfy). But the applause came from those in the posh seats, too.
There were full orchestra and solo pieces: parts of the Double Violin Concerto, Brandenburg 3, the solo cello suites and perhaps less well-known suites for recorder (a particular joy). Some had dance accompaniment, some pure music, during which the dancers sat watching.
Perhaps it was all a bit of a gamble, but on the whole it worked very well. The danger, of course, is that there’s something repetitive about being so relentlessly on the beat and the choreography didn’t always overcome that. In group work there was a lot of what we used to call ‘carving space’; hand-led arm work that didn’t really go anywhere. But as the music got livelier, this got more quirky, and when they broke loose in solos, there was some truly amazing athleticism in the jumps, spins-on-the-head, down on the floor stuff, and all the vocabulary of street dance. In quieter moments, the elements of hip hop were tamed into almost classical moves. The professionals were breathtaking, the students well on their way to becoming so. And the multi-talented orchestra and soloists were fabulous. Of course they were; it was Bach…
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