Review: Scottish Ballet’s TWICE-BORN, Sadler’s Wells
Photo credit: Andy Ross
An enthusiastic audience greeted the return of Scottish Ballet to Sadler’s Wells, this time with a double bill. Welcoming the audience from the stage, Scottish Ballet CEO/Artistic Director Christopher Hampson promised an extra treat to begin the evening, a pre-show film by Resident Choreographer Sophie Laplane, whose Mary, Queen of Scots will be seen at the Edinburgh Festival this year.
The film was Dive, created by Laplane with James Bonas, and featured arresting images in blue and white of dancers in different spaces. Good use of the affordances of film enabled the dancers to breathe out blue powder and to defy gravity even more than they usually do. There was even a random llama who walked across the screen at one point to the delight of the audience. Unfortunately, the film was not seen at its best when projected at Sadler’s Wells, with over-loud distorted sound and slightly blurred images, and probably looks and sounds much better on a home device with headphones.
The first of the two on-stage pieces is Schachmatt (Checkmate) by Cayetano Soto, seen by Hampson in 2020 and now danced by Scottish Ballet with great precision, attention to detail and enthusiasm. It’s a joyful piece, danced to popular Spanish and French music by performers dressed in grey shorts, with ties and wearing riding hats (costume design by Debbie Duru). The whole work is something of a homage to Fosse, as Soto has acknowledged, and is shown in details like the bodily contortions and the finger placing when touching their hats - very much enjoyed by the audience.
The second ballet gives the evening its title, Twice-Born. Choreographer Dickson Mbi writes in the programme that an example of something that is “twice-born” is a bird; first an egg and then a chick. He goes on to explain that his piece is about the journey of a matriarch leaving her community and a young person coming of age. Mbi is from a contemporary and street dance background and this is his first commission for Scottish Ballet. He has also composed the score.
The opening reveals the craggy rockface that forms the background of the set by Ruby Law, with boulders scattered around the stage that later rise to the flies, only to fall again at a key moment. Good use is made of UV lighting to reveal the runes hidden on these stones, and the dancers do well to build on, and make use of this elaborate setting rather than being subordinated by it.
As the dancers portray this rite of passage, they interact with the set interestingly, and use the boulders to create a wall or to encircle themselves for protection. It’s a work that can probably be understood in many different ways.
It’s difficult to identify individual dancers since there are no character names. In one of the two principal roles, Marge Hendrick is a commanding presence and proves an anchor point for much of the action. Playing opposite her is the compelling Rishan Benjamin, at one point not just dancing on the stage but flying through the air with grace, power and believability; rarely has a performer looked so at ease in the air.
It’s a very short season at Sadler’s Wells but both ballets are worth seeing – catch them if you can, Besties!
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Chris Abbott
