Rambert Dance Company
This fabulous company of edgy dance theatre play to full houses wherever they perform and their return to Cornwall was warmly welcomed once again.
This 3 part performance opened with the delightful ‘Hush’, involving 6 Pierrot dressed dancers performing as happy, weightless puppets. The wonderful music for the piece was accredited to Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma.
Not so delightful was ‘Rainforest’, a revival of Merce Cunningham’s original creation in 1968. The inflatable silver pillows which float aimlessly during the performance was an idea borrowed from Andy Warhol. Legend has it that Warhol gave permission to use his pillows if the dancers were nude for the piece, thankfully good sense won the day and flesh coloured, ragged bodysuits are in evidence. Although the dancers performed brilliantly, the disjointed cacophony of music and the annoying silver pillows distracted attention away from the dance itself.
‘Awakenings’ is based on the work of neurologist Dr. Oliver Sachs, whose work with sleeping sickness discovered that patients could be awakened with the help of a drug which eventually caused very bad side effects. The Rambert choreography and portrayal of the effect of the drug on the patients was powerful, moving and slightly disturbing, evoking memories of my first viewing of ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’.
A standing ovation from a packed theatre at the end of the night proves that in these times of financial hardship, dance remains a much loved performance art form.