Gallery of Consequence:
Emma Evelein (choreographer), Raven Bush (sound design), Amy Baty (dramaturg), Ryan Joseph Stafford (lighting), Susan Bender Whitfield (costumes creative director), AMIANGELIKA (Video design).
Music: Singularity by Jon Hopkins, Come Wander With Me by Bonnie Beecher, Moth – Four Tet & Burial, Ola de luz – OKRAA, Merci – Stromae, Subiendo Part 1 – Camille.
B.R.I.S.A.
Johan Inger (choreographer), Gregor Acuña (dramaturg), Tom Visser (lighting design), Johan Inger (set design), Bregje van Balen (costumes).
Music: Amos Ben-Tal (new composition), including music by Nina Simone: Black Swan, Wild is the wind, Sinnerman
Adél Bálint, Alessio Corallo, Cali Hollister, Coke Lopez, Conor Kerrigan, Dylan Tedaldi, Hannah Hernandez, Hua Han, Jau’mair Garland, Max Day, Naya Lovell, Seren Williams, Siang Huang, Simone Damberg-Würtz, Sungmin Kim, Tom Davis-Dunn
B.R.I.S.A
Adél Bálint, Alessio Corallo, Dylan Tedaldi, Max Day, Naya Lovell, Seren Williams, Simone Damberg-Würtz, Sungmin Kim
Kismet: a hypothetical force, the notion of fate and destiny which determines the course of future events.
Rambert presents KISMET, a double bill of dance works - the World premiere of Gallery of Consequence by Emma Evelein and a revival of Johan Inger’s B.R.I.S.A., which both reflect on the unpredictability of life.
Emma Evelein is a Dutch choreographer & director of commercials and music videos, blending spoken word, film, music, sounds and stories as part of her unique language of dance. As a keen observer of humanity in different environments, in this debut work for Rambert, she translates the feelings of pleasure and pressure we experience at an airport into stylised movement and cinematic theatricality.
With visions of the ‘Silly Walks’ Python sketch, a dozen travellers strut and stride, wheel cases in a mannered march, queuing at check-in, bag drop and departure gate. This is a world of the uber-stylish, couples, friends, solo flyers and radiant fashionistas as if cruising the catwalk. A giant screen shows the flickering list of destinations, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo as brief vignettes dramatise contrasting moments of eager anticipation and stressful aggression.
Slickly performed to Jon Hopkins’ techno-electronic music, the robotic moves and high kicks are akin to an army of androids as Tannoy announcements and gobbledygook dialogue add to the humorous theatricality of the narrative. In a frantic flurry of activity, passengers rush, run and race across the stage as the departure board crashes in melt down mode, scrolling at supersonic speed.
From the fear of missing a flight, the pace slows down with a soulful ballad by Bonnie Beecher – ‘Come wander with me, He came from the sunset, He came from the sea, He came from my sorrow, And can love only me ‘.
Amidst fast paced, ensemble jives, a couple of brief encounters and dynamic duets, but there's no serendipitous scenario akin to Sam, when he is utterly smitten by a sudden glimpse of Annie at the airport in ‘Sleepless in Seattle.’ That's the magical, romantic touch of Kismet!
With vibrant visuals and soundscape, we are immersed in this chaotic, surreal environment, lost in a sea of strangers, feeling isolated in transit between international borders. In this gallery of mini-portraits, shifting emotions from joyful excitement to pure panic are artistically painted in this witty and vivacious dance-drama.
The work of the Swedish choreographer Johan Inger was performed by Ballet British Columbia were at the Festival Theatre in late May – Passing, a poignant picture of life’s journey from birth to ‘Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.’
Inspired by the Spanish word for “breeze”, Johan Inger’s B.R.I.S.A. is quite literally a whirlwind of change and awakening for a private, tight-knit community. One by one, the dancers, head lowered, shuffle slowly in jerky motion across the stage draped with a veil of streamers to create a sense of enclosure.
At first, they crouch, crawl and roll on the floor in dim, dark shadows, but unfortunately sightlines are extremely poor from the front of the stalls: the set design features a plush carpeted lawn which is invisible until later, when carried off the stage.
The lyrics of classic Nina Simone songs guide the storyline:
Let me fly away with you, For my love is like the wind, And wild is the wind.
As if they are suffering from a tropical heatwave, a girl takes refuge beside a fan blowing in the wings and soon everyone is keen to feel a refreshing blast of cold air. In manic desperation, another dancer finds a fan, another shares a hair dryer and finally a giant leaf blower provides the force of a gale.
Ingers is renowned for his quirky, inventive approach through improvised ritual-based choreography and here Simone’s Gospel anthem, Sinnerman evokes the incantation of religious fervour: It was boilin', I run to the sea, I run to the Lord, I ran to the devil. Power, Power, Power.
Quietly reminiscent of Miller’s ‘The Crucible’, a young girl seems consumed by a bewitching spirit, as she stretches her body, flailing her arms as if breaking free from social constraint and convention. The posse of previously introvert women then express a cathartic release of emotion from pent up tension, skipping with wild abandon. With synchronised steps of a folk or tribal dance flowing to the rhythmic musical beat, a petite lady in red is lifted high in the air by a troupe of male dancers, swooping in bird-like flight.
The dramatic mood is earthy, hypnotic and celebratory as a poetic meditation on womanhood, renewal and hope. While the narrative has no clear connection to Kismet, B.R.I.S.A. bursts with exuberant, playful energy to illustrate the shared, communal experience of joyful transformation, blowing in the wind.
Showtimes:
3 - 5 July, 2025
Thurs/Fri: 7.30pm; Sat: 2.30pm only.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose, Bath BA1
Thurs 6 – Sat 8 November 2025
Evenings: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
https://rambert.org.uk/whats-on/kismet/
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