This double bill from Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is totally lacking in fury but you can’t deny there’s fire. In David Bintley’s The King Dances (first performed in 2015), flaming torches evoke the 17th-century court of Louis XIV, where the young king performed at the centre of lavish spectacles.
This Louis (Max Maslen) seems more of a dreamer than the arrogant ego you might expect. The steps are based on the ramrod-straight poise and quick, precise footwork of ballet’s baroque roots. It needs to be rhythmically watertight, but composer Stephen Montague’s irregular accents thwart both dancers and orchestra at times. A pared-back palette can force great creativity, but here that comes in the shape of Halloween monsters under the bed rather than choreographic ingenuity. The finale, however, is utterly masterful: the simple power of bodies in unison, the timpani beating a stately pavane and a Sun King costume fit for David Bowie. Suddenly, he rules.
In a new work, Ignite by Juanjo Arques, fire ripples through the dancers’ bodies. It’s the more vital, pleasurable piece of the evening. Inspired by Turner’s The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, limbs flicker and lick, arms scribble the air as if drawing with a sparkler, all in one long brushstroke of constant motion. It is enhanced by the dancers’ flowing silk shirts; sometimes costumes can really make a difference.
Arques, an associate at Dutch National Ballet, was commissioned as part of an initiative to create more new work at BRB, and the dancers look like they are thriving. Mathias Dingman (playing “Sky”) has lovely firm power and legato grace, and makes a great match with “River”, played by Delia Mathews. Arqués has dancers evoke curling smoke, the serene stillness of the river and a cannon of tides, against an excellent new score by Kate Whitley, the instruments a shimmering, expanding-contracting mass.
It’s a well-realised choreographic concept, even if an attempt to make some sort of larger metaphorical reflection doesn’t really come off. But those flaming dancers? They’re hot.
At Sadler’s Wells, London, on 31 October
