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Review: East London Dance Currents 2010 - Blueprint
East London Dance began its Dance Currents 2010 season with Blueprint
Friday 26 February
Words: David Barros
Note: Due to unforeseen transport problems, our viewing of Blueprint 2010 was limited to the second half of the show.
Blueprint has a reputation as the show that debuts new pieces of dance and special commissions from upcoming talent to set the standard for the year ahead.
Many of the pieces were straight from the studio to the stage, meaning some were unfinished, while others were selections from special guest acts.
MJ Fusion, special guests, opened the second half of the show with their set Dirty Feet, a performance of three short pieces. They opened with a Michael Jackson solo that was painful to watch as its dancer waited his audio cues (dancing on sounds is a dated convention in street dance) to hit his positions.
Their house dance set was also limited by not dancing in unison with one another, showing the unity as a group they have yet to establish. Being a young company (the four dancers formed as a company after appearing on Move Like Michael Jackson), MJ Fusion have yet to learn how dance similar to one other and will hopefully do so next time they perform.
However, their contemporary was strong, blending floor work with seamlessly with breaking moves, closing to a male and female duet while a third person spoke a monologue.
Another example of strong contemporary was Me 2 You, a duet by Keneish Dance, a piece so technically perfect and on beat that canons looked perfect even when the dancers, Keisha Grant and Sean Graham, couldn't spot each other in their peripheral vision.
Exploring platonic friendships, “a friendship that is never too close or too distant,” their roles were perfectly balanced, meaning your eyes followed both dancers equally instead of following just one. It was easy to follow, and included an interesting blend of African inspired hip rolls for additional repertoire.
Complete with full costume and cast, Lucia Alvarez's Diciembre Dance Group had a strong Spanish influence for extracts from the House of Bernarda Alba which also included acting moments, demonstrating the oppression of the dancers. It made a change to the usual line up of dance that night with its dark underlying themes.
Formally known as East London Dance Company, Limitless Dance performed a piece set in the era of Martin Luther King complete with sixties costume.
Themed on Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, it opened to a jive routine before breaking off into the theme of leadership and freedom. The dancers broke of and shouted against the oppression in search of leadership.
The closing act for the night was Blueprint Bursary winner James Wilton entitled Forest. Mentored by Rambert's Glenn Wilkinson it could do no wrong, with lots of daring jumps making it interesting to watch, although could have been shortened to make it more concise and less about showing off repertoire.
Blueprint summary
Blueprint 2010 (what I saw of it) was an interesting night with an introduction to several new up and coming choreographers and dance groups.
The most promising pieces were from the Limitless Dance ensemble, while MJ Fusion have yet to establish themselves as a company and decide on being a Michael Jackson tribute group or a diverse collective, as the name was misleading.
Contemporary dance may have been the theme of the night, but to justify winning the Blueprint Bursary, James Wilton should focus on improving his piece to engage the audience more. At points it reminded me of watching Traces circus theatre rather than a forest.
It is just the start of the Dance Currents 2010 season for East London Dance, and
although off to a rocky start, there’s plenty promise in the rest of their events
line up -
Two’s A Company is the next show in the Dance Currents series.
Related articles:
We’re excited about... East London Dance Dance Currents Season
Review: Sadler’s Wells Sampled 2010
Review: Sadler’s Wells Sampled 2009
Blogs topics:
Move Like Michael Jackson; So You Think You Can Dance
Related links: