Romeo And Juliet, London
Rasta Thomas is on a self-declared mission to update classical dance and shift its repertory into a 21st-century gear. Together with his co- choreographer Adrienne Canterna, Thomas has been evolving a language that mixes the grand jetés and pirouettes of his classical training with elements from hip-hop, jazz, acrobatics and martial arts. In this take on Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy, Thomas uses that language to relocate the starcrossed lovers to the modern world, complete with an eclectic score incorporating Jay Z and Lady Gaga, and big-screen digital imagery.
Peacock Theatre, WC2, Tue to 29 Mar
Safe, Bournemouth
Zoie Golding, recently appointed associate choreographer of the Octagon Theatre in Somerset, has an interest in creating work for male dancers and telling stories about male lives. In her latest work, she goes back to 1930s New York to imagine the stories of the construction workers who built the city’s vaulting skyscrapers, often labouring hundreds of feet in the air. Five male dancers perform on and around a set of steel, aluminium and wood, the choreography mimicking the courage, competition and camaraderie of the workers as it pushes the dancers to physical risks and extremes.
