Linbury theatre, Royal Opera House, London
Yorke Dance Project celebrate Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham and Bella Lewitzky in a mixed bill that offers a valuable lesson
If the title of this mixed bill from Yorke Dance Project brings to mind sunshine and feelgood vibes, stop right there. To mark the 25th anniversary of her company, Yolande Yorke-Edgell has collated a programme celebrating female dance pioneers who lived in California (as the British artistic director used to) and it’s not exactly sunny: the tragic life of Isadora Duncan, the white-hot power of Martha Graham, the strong geometry of Bella Lewitzky, and a piece of Yorke-Edgell’s own that feeds on the spirit of all three. Surfin’ USA it ain’t.
It is an insight into modern dance history, which started with the spirited, passionate Duncan at the turn of the 20th century. She threw off the shackles of classical dance, restrictive fashions and social expectations to pursue freedom of artistic expression and was celebrated in the salons of Europe. But her life was a string of tragedies, primarily the deaths of her three children, alongside doomed love affairs and financial woes. This is all captured in an effective reworking of Kenneth MacMillan’s Isadora, originally created in 1981 (this version edits out her death, strangled when her scarf caught in the wheels of a car). Amy Thake, in the title role, wafts, skips and floats on the breeze, and shows us a woman who lived through her body, ruled by sensation with no fear of feelings – who had a generous dose of self-importance, too.
