Birmingham Royal Ballet - The Lowry, Salford - 01/07/09
A macabre dance of death, partly inspired by Michael Jackson's Thriller video, has been given added poignancy here by the singer's death.
The Dance House is one of three pieces that open Birmingham Royal Ballet's summer visit.
The ensemble scenes feature the Egyptian funerary shaping that was a key element of Jackson's music video, and the dance itself is a hymn to the arbitrary nature of mortality.
A shock-haired Alexander Campbell performs as a whirling Dervish of death, randomly selecting a victim from the corps de ballet and then dancing the entire company to their doom in a dizzying final act.
It's a genuinely thrilling piece, with astonishing setpieces, danced to a strident piano and trumpet composition by Shostakovich.
It sets out to dazzle almost as much as the opening dance, Galanteries, seems determined to underwhelm its audience.
Against shades of gunmetal or graphite grey - reflected in costumes and backdrop - it gradually opens out into a light and graceful arrangement of dance to a random selection of what even Mozart himself might have agreed was background music.
Initial appearances are deceptive, and again here are more breath-taking solo sequences and an athletic power to the whole dance.
And for a midsummer visit what better way to bring the house down than a revival of Frederick Ashton's The Dream, the ballet that steals the essence of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream and turns it into one of the most joyous of modern theatre dances.
On opening night it was also a showcase for the beguiling Eastern talents of BRB's international cast, with Chinese and Japanese performers to the fore.
The Dream always looks as much fun to perform as it does to watch.
Tonight and tomorrow the programme switches to more Ashton and Balanchine.
David Upton
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Friday 10 February 2012
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