Scottish Ballet Twice-Born Festival Theatre Edinburgh 20th October 2023 Review
Scottish Ballet Twice-Born is at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh 20th and 21st October, and features two very different works by two very different choreographers.
The first work this evening, Schachmatt (checkmate) by Spanish-born choreographer Cayetano Soto, packs a lot into its 20 minute performance time and also pushes the boundary lines of where many people expect classical ballet and contemporary dance to be, and fuses them together so well that although the contrasting styles used in this work are very different they blend together like they have always belonged to each other.
Choreographer Cayetano Soto is by his own admission taking influences here from the choreography of Bob Fosse and his ground-breaking work on Cabaret. This European influence is everywhere in the music used for this work as the dancers move in very specific lines (like chess pieces) across a chessboard floor. Opening with the classic J'attendrai by Rina Ketty, the musical background is now set to some of the great continental songs that somehow have found their way into our collective consciousness, often due to their use in continental films. Here we also have perhaps the greatest of all French song-writers, Michel Legrand, represented with Di-gue-ding-ding.
Other music included
Estaba escrito · Monna Bell.
Arráncame la Vida · Toña La Negra.
Lo Dudo · Los Panchos.
It was good also to hear one of the great instrumentals of the late 1950s, The Peter Gunn Theme (Henry Mancini)- Remastered · Jack Costanzo.
It might sound like the music is overshadowing the dance in this review, but this is what is giving this work so much of its beating heart as the dancers move so precisely to every beat of it, often in a style that is very much like watching Cabaret on stage (or film). The people in the centre of the auditorium this evening probably got the best view of this work as the dancers standing behind other dancers would have been almost invisible apart from their arm and hand movements.
Somehow though, with the costume design taking its inspiration from equestrian designs, there is a very British, 1960s feel about this work, almost like a moving Vogue photo-shoot from the period as dancers move across the chessboard to checkmate each other, often in very humorous choreography.
The second, and title work of this evening’s programme, was Twice-Born, a new Scottish Ballet commission by Olivier-Award-winning choreographer and world-renowned dancer Dickson Mbi. Inspired by ancient fables, Twice-Born is set in a mythical world where matriarchal figures are sacrificed and reborn.
Choreographed for a large company of dancers, this work has something very ancient, very primordial about it and as the dancers move and breathe in unison there is that feel of watching one connected and living organism on stage.
With any work of this nature, parallels with Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring will always be there, but here as in the first work, Dickson Mbi is taking different dance styles, different dance languages, and integrating them with classical dance movements. With his background in street dance, and an obvious love of dance movement from many different cultures, plus his original music, Dickson Mbi, over the fifty minutes of this work, draws us into a world that at times is a very unsettling place to be. Somehow, Marge Hendrick and Rishan Benjamin with a fusion of dance styles make us believe that they are truly a part of this ancient culture with its often hypnotic rhythms where dance is central to both life and rebirth.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
The first work this evening, Schachmatt (checkmate) by Spanish-born choreographer Cayetano Soto, packs a lot into its 20 minute performance time and also pushes the boundary lines of where many people expect classical ballet and contemporary dance to be, and fuses them together so well that although the contrasting styles used in this work are very different they blend together like they have always belonged to each other.
Choreographer Cayetano Soto is by his own admission taking influences here from the choreography of Bob Fosse and his ground-breaking work on Cabaret. This European influence is everywhere in the music used for this work as the dancers move in very specific lines (like chess pieces) across a chessboard floor. Opening with the classic J'attendrai by Rina Ketty, the musical background is now set to some of the great continental songs that somehow have found their way into our collective consciousness, often due to their use in continental films. Here we also have perhaps the greatest of all French song-writers, Michel Legrand, represented with Di-gue-ding-ding.
Other music included
Estaba escrito · Monna Bell.
Arráncame la Vida · Toña La Negra.
Lo Dudo · Los Panchos.
It was good also to hear one of the great instrumentals of the late 1950s, The Peter Gunn Theme (Henry Mancini)- Remastered · Jack Costanzo.
It might sound like the music is overshadowing the dance in this review, but this is what is giving this work so much of its beating heart as the dancers move so precisely to every beat of it, often in a style that is very much like watching Cabaret on stage (or film). The people in the centre of the auditorium this evening probably got the best view of this work as the dancers standing behind other dancers would have been almost invisible apart from their arm and hand movements.
Somehow though, with the costume design taking its inspiration from equestrian designs, there is a very British, 1960s feel about this work, almost like a moving Vogue photo-shoot from the period as dancers move across the chessboard to checkmate each other, often in very humorous choreography.
The second, and title work of this evening’s programme, was Twice-Born, a new Scottish Ballet commission by Olivier-Award-winning choreographer and world-renowned dancer Dickson Mbi. Inspired by ancient fables, Twice-Born is set in a mythical world where matriarchal figures are sacrificed and reborn.
Choreographed for a large company of dancers, this work has something very ancient, very primordial about it and as the dancers move and breathe in unison there is that feel of watching one connected and living organism on stage.
With any work of this nature, parallels with Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring will always be there, but here as in the first work, Dickson Mbi is taking different dance styles, different dance languages, and integrating them with classical dance movements. With his background in street dance, and an obvious love of dance movement from many different cultures, plus his original music, Dickson Mbi, over the fifty minutes of this work, draws us into a world that at times is a very unsettling place to be. Somehow, Marge Hendrick and Rishan Benjamin with a fusion of dance styles make us believe that they are truly a part of this ancient culture with its often hypnotic rhythms where dance is central to both life and rebirth.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com