Another wonderful thing was the quality of performance, when I became conscious of individual artists� contributions. Joshua Consadine was a riveting presence in Bella Figura, which also featured a touching performance from Miwako Kubota, who returned, along with all the other women from Bella Figura � Kirsty Martin, Rachael Read Felicia Palanca and Nicole Rhodes, in a fabulous display in Velocity. Damien Welch, who had also danced in Bella Figura, excelled in Velocity, with Matthew Trent, yet another Bella Figura veteran, and Steven Woodgate also standing out among the men. One of the rewards of long term ballet-going for me has been watching dancers develop as artists and Steven Woodgate�s multi-decade career is one that I have especially enjoyed following. In recent times, he has been developing a dramatic range of multi-faceted subtlety, but also he has brought a wonderfully clean expressiveness to pure dance roles. There is absolutely no doubt that the dance artist benefits by maturing over time and one of the greatest barriers to this is the fear that grips you as the body ages. Often, I have seen dancers retire �prematurely� because the mind gives up before the body. Of course, there is no doubt that it is easier to execute most moves at 20 years of age than at 35, or older but on stage, in performance, it is generally the older artist who makes the more notable contribution. Among the women, Lucinda Dunn dazzled � she is definitely the company�s absolute foxy lady. Her technique is sure and light and there is joy in her every move.
Camilla Vergotis and Timothy Harbour as the Head Cupids in Molto Vivace, and Miwako Kubota and Kevin Jacobson as their deputies really pepped things up, showing a performance range I had not previously noted in their work. Joshua Consadine, as a hapless suitor gave substance to a part that relied greatly on dramatic interpretation and he made the thing work. Robert Curran and Simone Goldsmith were completely convincing as lovers and brought an edge of reality into a world of nonsense. Michael Carter achieved the ultimate in the final sequence � as I wondered, �What is this guy doing?� when he seemed out of kilter with the ensemble, I fixed my attention on him and thereby was swept along by the tiny drama in which his character was involved. That�s performance!
Kandis Cook�s design for Velocity includes a painted backdrop of layered squares and rectangles of positive and negative space, creating the impression of a high-rise cityscape. While the positive areas remain black as the work unfolds, the negative areas change from grey to fiery glows suggesting the passage of day to night and back again. The geometry is a fragmented nod at the work of Mondrian, which Welch acknowledges as one inspiration for Velocity, which is intended as a sister piece for Divergence (1994). While neither the choreography nor the design of Velocity have the bizarre inventiveness of Divergence, the work stands strongly. The simple costumes � white tutus for the women and sleeveless allovers for the men � featuring sheer panels reflecting the geometry of the backdrop, enhance the presentation with a stylish edge. This work received the loudest approval from the audience. Its upbeat nature would have made it an ideal closing item.
Molto Vivace is a piece I would have put first because there�s such a lot in it. Apart from the deft, artfully modulated choreography, there�s also the extreme visual impact of its design. This was the only work of the night to receive instant applause for its opening tableau: a silhouette of some smart 18th century folk framed by borders suggestive of bucolic settings. For all the references to the rococo period, the look is very contemporary, almost hard-edged, especially in the use of colour, which consists of endless white contrasted with hues ranging from jewel to fluoro.
From BBDance