Black Grace, Assembly Roxy, Review

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Rating (out of 5)
4
Show info
Company
Black Grace
Production
Neil leremia (Choreographer)
Performers
Sean MacDonald - Zoe Visvanathan - Sarah Baron - Joash Tuugamusu - Callum Sefo - Otis Herring - James Wasmer - Maresa D'Amore-Morrison

(Dancers)
Running time
60mins

This group of dancers from New Zealand are incredibly talented and the choreography by Neil leremia is brilliant. All the work presented during the show spans a period of twenty years. Ieremia has put together an hour of high energy, kinetic dance with a wide range of styles plus music drawn from the classical, traditional and modern day pop.

Observing this talented ensemble of dancers smash through one piece after another is exhausting just to watch but their structured, focused and purposeful approach is present in every nuance. The wide range of the dance pieces presented is invigorating and absorbs the attention of the audience. Live music to accompany this otherwise heavily charged hour is missing, all the music being recorded. One of the very first tracks involving drumming was let down by poor sound quality, the aural reproduction appearing slightly muffled and not as crisp as I would have otherwise liked it.

The tempo of the show is formidable but the experience was a little marred by Neil leremia's narrative which interspersed the dancing. The issue for me was that the show begins with a casually dressed leremia delivering in practised informality the story of his journey and his music. The performers then enter and deliver an extraordinary demonstration of beautiful and dynamic dance. After two pieces lemeria returns and tells us another story behind the following section, after the third time I just wanted the dance and the dancers to speak on his behalf. If we need to know the history of the pieces presented then adopt some other approach but don't break the rhythm and the potency of the work with a faltering delivery of anecdote and story.

This is a potent high energy performance with dancers who are at the top of the skill tree. An exciting show to watch with a massively varied content and dynamic choreography.

Suitability: U
Running: 03 - 22 August
Time: 19:20 (60Mins)
Tickets: £10