Ballet Boyz: “The Talent” -
Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, 14 May -
A well-known quote attributed to Balanchine, “Ballet is woman”, still looms large in our cultural perception of ballet. So the BalletBoyz, an all male touring company from the UK is a bit of a rarity. Founded in 2000 by ex-dancers from the Royal Ballet, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, this non-traditional company has engaged with a range diverse projects and formats, including a number of documentaries and TV work. Since retiring from performance in 2009, these founder-directors have invested their time and energy in fostering a new generation of male dancers and it is these ten young men who are featured in “The Talent”.
Given the commercial nature of their advertising, imagery that highlighted the dancers’ ripped muscular torsos more than their actual movement ability, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed at the quality and integrity of this program. Composed of two new works from leading UK choreographers Liam Scarlett and Russell Maliphant, “The Talent” gave each dancer material that allowed them to shine yet also challenged them physically and artistically. Both were ensemble works and listed as such, so I am unable to single out any dancers for particular mention but as a team they were very impressive.
In the first work, Liam Scarlett’s Serpent, the dancers wear footless flesh coloured tights that highlight the elongated lines and graceful fluidity of their movement. Although Scarlett’s choreography is not strictly ‘classical’ it still shows a recognisably lyrical influence. Many phrases of movement alternate deftly between canon and unison and halfway through the work, in a tableau reminiscent of Balanchine, one dancer faces the audience while seven others line up back to back, leaning against one another and creating a gradually sloping line. The music, composed by Max Richter, has a lyrical, somewhat sorrowful quality and the dancers appear sensitive and refined, yet still masculine.
The second work, Russell Maliphant’s Fallen is quite different in tone, much more aggressive and combative. It opens with the ten dancers divided evenly into two concentric circles and they come in and out of this formation for the first section of the work. There is something ritualistic and oppressive in this scene. Although still moving fluidly, the dancers showed much more resistance and weight than they had in Scarlett’s Serpent. Costumed in nondescript loose fitting long pants and sleeveless tops, the focus is not so much on line as it is on gravity and transference of weight.
Gradually the choreography escalates into increasingly difficult feats of strength and balance. Dancers balanced upon other dancers, and high up in the air, are passed from one support to another, or lean far away from their centre of balance supported by a second or third person. All this is done slowly and with maximum control so that while one can see that these lifts are potentially dangerous, it never looks like anyone is actually at risk of falling. Fallen is accompanied by a musical score from Armand Amar and its strong beat and minimalist style repetition enhance the ominous feeling of this work as a whole.
Lighting designer Michael Hulls deserves a special mention as the way he lights what is otherwise a bare stage really fleshes out and adds depth to both works, although the stark outlines of spotlights in Fallen are nothing like the changing hues of warm and cool colours in Serpent.
I gladly watched this program a second time later in the week, but it had to be standing room only as seated tickets for the five day run were sold out.
So keep an eye out for the BalletBoyz in the future, hopefully they will return to Australia soon.
- GERALDINE HIGGINSON