Linbury theatre, Royal Opera House, London
Rafael Bonachela’s beautiful choreography and Paula Levis’ striking costumes stand out in pieces ranging from a gentle voyage to stark electro intensity
Twenty years ago, Rafael Bonachela was a major new talent in UK dance. A Spaniard who’d spent years dancing in London with Rambert and was making waves with his choreography. But in 2009 he left to become artistic director at Sydney Dance Company, so this show is a bit of a homecoming. The triple bill, titled Ascent, opens with a short piece of Bonachela’s own, I Am-ness, and it’s a reminder of the quality of his choreography: 10 minutes of beautiful movement, set to the keening and soaring violin of Lonely Angel by Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks. It’s less frenetic than some of Bonachela’s early works, and takes time and pleasure in the facility of the four dancers in long, continuous, ever-evolving phrases. They’re on their individual paths, but en route they connect, they embrace; they need each other. It’s all very human, while being technically impressive – this is a company of strong, versatile dancers, and what they show in Ascent is work that’s solidly movement and music-led, dancing round the edges of abstraction.
Marina Mascarell’s The Shell, a Ghost, the Host & the Lyrebird opens feeling like early morning, with stillness and subdued light, and sparse shimmering music. From the ceiling fall ropes and swathes of fabric, like a ship’s rigging, and there’s the subtle impression of a voyage somewhere, choreography gently rocked by the water’s undertow. It’s a dreamy piece, although its potency wanes, not dissimilar to Antony Hamilton’s Forever & Ever, which is built like a big crescendo with a fizzle-out ending. Forever & Ever looks fab though, and it’s full of striking visual surprises, mostly courtesy of costume designer Paula Levis. The dancers emerge in hooded cloaks and cone-shaped hands, like a cross between The Traitors and a Pet Shop Boys gig. There is constant transformation, from monochrome to colour, from silence to a stark electro beat of increasing intensity, a slow build of adrenaline. The dancers are often tight to the music in a kind of 4/4 semaphore, slaves to the rhythm, but this is definitely not a party; it’s very cool, very controlled. And it’s very watchable. The programme feels fresh without being particularly experimental, and Bonachela’s choreography and Levis’ costumes especially bring sparks of joy.
• At Linbury theatre, Royal Opera House, London until 28 March
