Review: KVN Dance Company’s COPPELIA, Marylebone Theatre - Tour

Photo credit: Hettie Pearson

Many of the great ballets such as Swan Lake and Giselle have been re-worked in a variety of ways, and there have also been several different takes on Coppelia in recent years. The KVN Dance Company have attempted to do something rather different, taking the traditional story but rescoring much of the original music and then retelling the story through modern dance.

The recycled set and costumes look effective on the Marylebone Theatre stage, where good sight lines make this an excellent venue for dance performances. The cast of twelve are all impressive, and often fill the stage with rapid movement, while the more lyrical sections of the original story tend to be sidelined. This is partly due to the re-working of the music by Delibes in a score by Rickard Berg, which mixes lengthy samples of the orchestral original with an overlay of crackles, electronic sound and other audio. The emphasis is mainly on the faster sections of the music, and Kevan Allen’s choreography is at his best when working with large groups of the cast, including the hen and stag groups which take the place of the more traditional drinking festival.

The choreography makes good use of a variety of dance forms, including everything from classical ballet mime to moves taken from body popping and break dancing. The dance throughout is fast, sinuous and energetic, although occasionally repetitive. The cast wear traditional though timeless costumes and work bare foot throughout. As Director, Allen is perhaps slightly less successful at creating a coherent story, although the section with Franz mesmerised by the doll in the window works well (and he doesn’t need a ladder in this version), as does Swanilda disguising herself as the doll.

It’s good to see something of a return to the darker overtones of the original Hoffmann story. Some future involvement of a dramaturg might help to clarify some of the latter sections of the story, particularly the role of the Pumpernickel couple, and the narrative relating to Swanhilda, and perhaps by reducing the time that large groups of the cast are on stage, and having more sections with key characters to tell the story more clearly.

Whilst not a total success, this is an inventive take on a ballet classic, very well danced, and provides good opportunities for an enthusiastic and talented group of young dancers.

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Chris Abbott

KVN Dance Company’s Coppelia plays at Marylebone Theatre until 27 April before continuing its tour. For more info, please click here.