The new Rose International Dance Prize, developed by Alistair Spalding thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, is a biennial prize for choreographers, awarded for an individual production created within a timeframe rather than for a body of work. Nominees are selected from filmed submissions, but finalists must bring their dancers to London to perform the work live to audiences. Spalding compares the concept of the prize to the Turner Prize for art or the Booker Prize for literature, hoping to achieve a similar reach of interest to the dance-going public and a broad reach of competitors.
There is a companion prize, the Bloom prize, for choreographers with a maximum of ten years experience. I have long felt that there is a discussion to be had about the need for greater collaboration between arts leaders and philanthropists, who can often make a significant impact on development in the arts, particularly in straitened times. This initiative does exactly that: I applaud it wholeheartedly.
Rose finalist Kyle Abraham is familiar to London audiences; his work has been danced by The Royal Ballet, no less, and his beautiful piece Love Letter (on shuffle) was brought to Sadler's Wells as part of the programme given by a cohort of dancers from New York City Ballet last year. His choreographic style when danced by classical companies is intriguing: always clever, always unique, but his own dancers of A.I.M get inside his movement style in a way that truly connects with his audience, and moves us to the core, coming as it does from heartfelt artistic inspiration.
Initiated by a powerful shoulder roll, a ripple through the spine, an extended leg that folds back on itself and pushes the momentum through the dancer’s body, each movement expresses Abraham’s rich personal vocabulary.
Abraham is vocal in his desire to widen understanding of the Black experience, and his Rose contender, An Untitled Love, does exactly that, showing the strength of the different kinds of love and brotherhood that exist within that community. With a simple set – a sofa, a floor lamp – against a graphic backdrop or a coloured cyclorama, (scenic design by Dan Scully) it is beautifully lit (again by Scully) to create different moods (a gathering in a private home perhaps, a club, a dancehall), Abraham references older styles of dance (I saw some calypso, some Latin, some ballroom holds, and a strong balletic influence underpinning the contemporary dance) that mix together to show the lively role dance has historically played in the Black social scene.
Woven through the dance is amusing dialogue: a man whose “Cadillac” is forever in the repair shop tries to connect with a successful woman who definitely doesn’t need a man who might take her to McDonald’s on their first date and who doesn’t go to church on Sundays. Eventually she agrees to go out with him and we hear her offstage questioning the wisdom of this decision and deciding what to wear (see, she does care!), and the melding and de-melding groups and pairings chatter and exchange banter. This is done cleverly so that it never feels intrusive or inappropriate. In the same way, the music, by D’Angelo and The Vanguard, is integral to the concept. As you watch, you become immersed in the action on stage, willing the individuals to connect with each other and relationships to blossom.
As for the dancers, they are superb. All are natural performers and thoroughly engaging communicators, and technically they are astonishing, so lithe, so athletic, sheer power shimmering through every movement. They are all of the highest calibre, but I particularly admired the work of Donovan Reed – what a dancer – and the charisma of Tamisha A Guy. In a very effective slow-motion sequence, about which I overheard much admiring discussion among departing audience members afterwards, Jae Neal’s physical comedy talent shone as they separated from the group and proceeded to somersault backwards over the sofa – all in slow motion.
This is a brilliant piece of theatre centred on inventive, creative dance that enthrals and amuses whilst conveying several serious messages. I hope we can see the company again very soon in London.
The inaugural Rose Prize performances are dedicated to the memory of Emma Gladstone.
