Something Old Something New by David Hughes Dance was a quadruple bill that - as suggested by the title - harked back to Hughes’ good old days and looked forward to possibly even better days to come. This is good news, as Hughes’ most recent productions have met with some pretty mixed reviews. Perhaps journeying back to where his greatness began helped him re-find his mojo, because collectively the four dances performed tonight represented a stunning display of dance and choreography.
First up was ‘Imploded: Une Reverie Romantique’, a choreography by the uber-talented Tanja Liedtke who was tragically killed in a car accident only 3 months after her work premiered here in Scotland in 2007, and only weeks before she was due to take up her appointment as Artistic Director of the Sydney Dance Company.
Imploded is a modern take on Les Sylphides, the first ever non-narrative ballet; a ballet of mood. Lietdke’s mood is a dazzling and quirky ‘dance ‘til you drop’ agitation: barely-controlled frenzied movements segued into a fluid, balletic style with break-dancing in between. This dance must have been gruelling for the dancers, who were probably very relieved when, one by one, their turn came to fall exhausted to the floor, until only one was left standing.
Followed by Hughes’ solo, ‘Adagietto’, choreographed by Bob Cohan, this represented a change of mood and style. A more traditional contemporary dance depicting the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, the strength of the spare and deliberate movements was intensified by the bare stage and stark lighting. This was Hughes at his best: powerful, majestic and moving.
‘Spitfire: an advertisement/divertissement’ set in the world of men’s underwear, was Matthew Bourne’s first choreographic hit from 1988 and once again, the mood changed completely. The four male dancers performed this camp choreography of wit and humour with superb style. Each dressed in white undergarments with carefully coiffed, sleeked-back hair, they took turns to present themselves fabulously centre stage, and just about managed to contain the bitchiness to produce an ensemble piece of brilliance. This was perhaps the highlight of the night.
After a short interval came the final piece, a new choreography by Cathy Marston, ‘Walking Shadow’. Imagining the final hours leading up to Lady Macbeth’s suicide, this was a fiercely dramatic depiction of the visions and the nightmares and the reliving of those moments that led both herself and Macbeth to their current place of desolation and terror. This piece was an exemplar of the intensity that can be created when the combined excellence of choreography, dance and acting are all equally present.
A triumphant night for dance and for Hughes.
This was a one-off performance