Let me start by saying I had never been to a ballet before this, and so was unsure what to expect. But what came to mind when I thought of ballet seemed very traditional, images of neutral colours, rigid forms, a female dominated stage and slow movement.
I am glad to say that this show blew all of those preconceived notions away. There was a lot of agile and fluid motions along side the more traditional shapes displayed in the 100 year old L’Apres-midi d’un faune performance.
It often had a fast pace to it and the dancers even seemed to run at times. The colour and costumes were stunning and the dancers sometimes used their bodies to add noise, sweeping you away in the rhythm of it all.
Sometimes I didn’t know where to look, there was so much going on and it all deserved my full attention. The music was powerful and the singer in Labyrinth of Love simply blew me away.
It was very emotive, although I couldn’t always grasp what was being said, but that is one of the great things about ballet and poetry, they are open to interpretation. During the intervals myself and my guest would discuss what we’d seen and what we thought it meant, often with the others comments widening our understanding.
One thing we agreed on, was that Labyrinth of Love is very raw and real. The poem was written by a woman in a time dominated by man, she expresses that love isn’t easy but instead it is complex with many choices, not all of which are simple. It is a journey of emotions and I was fascinated throughout the whole performance.
Lighting and backdrop played a great part in this show, they used moving images to create a scene and there were even giant wasps hanging from the ceiling at one point.
If you love ballet, or are a first timer like me, this company has something for everyone and is just stunning, both visually and musically!
To close, here are a few facts about the Rambert Dance Company. It is the UK’s oldest dance company and was started in 1926 by Marie Rambert. The company always provide live music by touring with an orchestra and the Artistic Director, Mark Baldwin, is celebrating 10 years in this role during this tour.
To book tickets for Thursday 15th November click here.
