A work by Sharon Eyal presented in the urban setting of the loading bay at Selfridges on Oxford Street, London, and one by Dimitris Papaioannou that turned the august stage of Sadler’s Wells into a watery island, took contemporary dance to different extremes. To quote Elvis Presley, one needed a little less conversation and a little more action; the other needed the opposite. Somewhere in the middle might lie the perfect dance work.
Eyal’s programme (co-created by Gai Behar and with music by Ori Lichtik) was slightly derailed by Covid, which kept too many of the dancers of tanzmainz, the contemporary dance company of Staatstheater Mainz, at home in Germany for the much-anticipated UK premiere of the choreographer’s Soul Chain. Instead, they substituted Family, a slight piece in which a group of dancers stick together, touching the hearts on their costumes as they gyrate and gesture.
Love Chapter 2, created in 2017 for Eyal’s own company LEV, is more substantial, both gruelling and intriguing in its patterns of repetitive movement. Eyal, who is very much flavour of the moment, has a movement style that is a unique mix of street and ballet, her dancers contorting their arms and shoulders while their legs and feet trace delicate high-arched shapes.
There’s a constant sense of power withheld, of dynamics suppressed. It’s fascinating to watch, but I long for more sense of release. Papaioannou’s new piece, Transverse Orientation, the conclusion of Dance Umbrella, shares the same problem, though, while Eyal is all wild energy, Papaioannou concentrates on control and the painstaking building of elaborate stage pictures.
These, which include a puppet bull and a Madonna statue that sinks beneath the stage as water spurts around it, are impossibly beautiful. It’s like watching a constant magic show – and only sometimes can you see how the choreographer creates his illusions. But there’s no momentum, and not much dance. It is lovely, but chilly.
Star ratings (out of five)
Family/Love Chapter 2 ★★★
Transverse Orientation ★★★
Sarah Crompton is the co-author of Leanne Benjamin: Built for Ballet, published on 1 November (Melbourne Books, £35). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
