It’s two years since London City Ballet successfully relaunched under the direction of Christopher Marney after a hiatus of nearly 30 years. On the basis of the inaugural presentation at the Linbury Theatre of a quadruple bill, the company is going from strength to strength and is in tremendous form. The intimacy of the Linbury made it abundantly clear just how hard the dancers were working and how impressive they were both individually and as a team.
Ashley Page’s effervescent Larina Waltz opened the evening. A ‘tutu ballet’ that lasts just eight minutes, it brimmed with confidence. The proximity of the dancers to the audience meant that scrutinising every step was unavoidable. Good to report then that Page’s intricate and taxing choreography did not faze any one of the ten-member cast. Far from it, they positively embraced the pace and stamina required of them. The memory of Josué Gomez flying through the air in a series of double cabriole derriére, beautifully stretched feet, crisp, clean beats, soft landings – is hard to shake.
The revival of a 1986 work by Jerome Robbins, Quiet City, is another coup for LCB. Unseen for decades, it was created after the loss of dancer Joseph Duell. Set to Aaron Copland’s 1940 score of the same name, it has a melancholic theme. Streamlined Alejandro Virelles, supported by Joseph Taylor and Arthur Wille and watched over by a group of mourners, gracefully moved through phrases of searching, yearning sequences. Beautiful shapes, poignant and meditative moments punctuated this soulful work until eventually Virelles was laid to rest.
It was followed by another mournful piece, Soon, a new creation by Tasha Chu based on the anticipation of grief. Opening with a sombre couple standing in front of a doctor, who promptly left the stage allowing the couple to digest the information imparted to them, this was a very well structured and crafted piece of choreography. Set to music by Sam Robinson and Gavin Bryars’ famous lament, Jesus’ blood never failed me yet, Sahel Flora Pascual and Siméon Sorange-Félicité wrapped themselves around each other, lifts unravelling, grounded with heavy emotions. Four other dancers seemed to propel them through the various stages of acceptance and helped them to navigate the ambiguity of their future. Superb interpretations and definitely worth seeing again.
After the interval we were treated to Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition which LCB brought to Sadler’s Wells in September. Oh what a joy it was to see it again! With live piano, expertly played by Reina Okada, this showed off all Ratmansky’s attributes as well as pushing the dancers beyond the imaginable and bringing out a roster of exciting performances.
The first thing to note is that Ratmansky doesn’t do ‘easy’: lifts are complicated and spectacular; allegro is buoyant but done at breakneck speed; changes of direction are often surprising; everything is done musically – the music dictates with the greatest precision what the dancer must do, not the other way around.
Within the ten pieces that make up Mussorgsky’s Pictures, many moods were expressed from anger to joy and a large dose of humour thrown into the mix. What was so thrilling about this performance was that it gave each of the dancers an opportunity to reveal alternative sides to their talents. Constance Devernay-Laurence gave an extraordinary account of The Gnome and Joseph Taylor was on fire in The Hut on Hen’s Legs (Baba Yaga). As with most of Ratmansky’s works, it seems we can never get enough of them.
Overall, London City Ballet is proving to be a valuable asset to the world of dance. Its mission to bring back lost works alongside commissioning new choreography is a perfect balance and it’s working supremely well. Most of all it’s bursting with talent from the experienced Virelles, Devernay-Laurence and Taylor to the fresh exuberance of Arthur Wille and the straight-out-of-school attack of Lydia Rose Hough.
