Here at London, Born and Bred, we always enjoy an evening of dance and this particular invitation sounded right our street; to see the Sao Paulo Dance Company at Sadler's Wells performing three pieces of work which we've never heard of, or seen before. The photos looked amazing, we went with a lot of excitement in our hearts, knowing that this wouldn't be a stilted classical ballet.
We weren't sure what to expect from the São Paulo Dance Company, apart from that they were sure to bring us some Brazilian energy. The first piece of work which they presented was a dance called 'Anthem', which was created by the company in 2019. This was accompanied by grey, cloudy, dark lighting and lots of smoke. We got to the end of it and wondered really quite what it had all been about. We thought it was about birth, rebirth, coming together, grouping, moving apart? My companion thought it may even be in the story of Adam and Eve. Reading the narrative in the programme, it seems that it is a reflection of life cycles and collective identity's inspired by songs that become hymns, anthems for an individual, a group, a generation or a nation. So it seems we weren't so far off after all!
The second piece we saw was lit quite differently, with a very summary palette to it, with soft Mediterranean blues reflected in the sky or perhaps in the sea, and with what looked like golden sand on the floor. Influenced by the rhythms and music of North Africa the dance is inspired by the mystical Islamic fellowship of the Gnawa people, brought to North Africa by the Berber as slaves. The one thing my companion and I both agreed on in this dance, was that someone got stabbed.
The 3rd and final piece that we saw was called Agora. It was an exciting finale, a dance created in 2019. This had a rock music feel to it, and my goodness me, the athleticism of the dancers was astonishing. The female ballerinas didn't just get themselves prepared for a lift, they threw themselves at the male dancers and were captured expertly and brilliantly every time.
All in all, this was visually exciting and exhilarating. The standard of the dancing was amazing, perfectly choreographed. There was nothing stuffy, old fashioned or elitist about this form of dance. No wonder it was sold out and we wish it every luck on its tour of the UK.
You can find it at:
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, from Tuesday 20th to Wednesday 21st February 2024
The Theatre Royal, Plymouth from Friday 23rd to Saturday 24th February 2024.
Brighton Dome, Tuesday 27th to Wednesday 28th 2024.
Hull New Theatre Friday 1st Saturday to Staurday 2nd of March 2024
Theatre Royal Newcastle Tuesday 5th to Wednesday 6th March 2024
Alhambra Theatre Bradford, Friday 8th to Saturday 9th March 2024.
The Lowry Salford Quays, Tuesday 12th to Wednesday 13th of March 2024
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Friday 15th to Saturday 16th March 2024.
Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Tuesday 19th to Wednesday 20th of March 2024
and finally Theatre Royal, Norwich, Friday 22nd March to Saturday 23rd of March 2024.
Presented by Dance Consortium.
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