After a gap of many, many months from reviewing this controversy-surrounded company, it was fascinating to see how much has changed, how much has stayed the same and what audiences across Wales can now expect from NDCWales.
Then to add to the sense of zany, head-scratching wonderment came the brief announcement that Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, appointed new artistic director, had parted company with NDCWales before even starting. Can the craziness get any more, well, crazy?
So it was rather ironic that this final season before the company was to get its much-needed fresh artistic start actually began with a work that took us back to where we were 12 months ago, presenting Stephen Shropshire’s Mythology.
Shropshire’s now rather familiar vocabulary set against a grindingly annoying soundtrack at least gives the troupe a dance to perform with lyricism and flow. Bought in from the closed down Noord Nederlandse Dans, the intricate, elegant composition shifts from an individual dancer to twos and threes until the ensemble eventually forms synchronised patterns as hysteria approaches. Dressed in simple white, the men and women inhabit some form of prison or asylum played out to Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together composition. With his dance company caput maybe Shropshire will be happy to take over as artistic director now the vacancy will have to be declared again despite presumably not getting the job first time round if he had applied last year.
Back to the show, after stumbling around the programme to work out what pieces we are to see from a repertoire that differs from venue to venue, the sounds of Ravel’s Bolero inform us it is Johan Inger’s well-travelled but always worth reviving Walking Mad. Our dancers move from the coldness and precision of the Shropshire work to initially playfulness, explosions of jollity and gathering intensity as the Ravel’s passion takes over. Doors open in the versatile freestanding fence that the dancers slam against, leap up, and race around in a surrealistic party with pointy red party hats in gay abandon. The tone changes to an isolated woman trapped as the fence becomes an enclosing wall and she dances with a trio of the company’ most engaging male dancers until the party resumes rising to Bolero’s climax. But the finale is a sombre duet set to Für Alina by Arvo Pärt as the dancers are cut off from the gleeful ensemble.
What we now needed was a serious big hitter to end the programme, a pulse-racing gripper such as Petronio or Galili at their best. Unfortunately, however, we end on another piece of quirkiness that smacks of choreographer Alexander Ekman’s overindulging the theme of playing with rhythm.
Created for American company Cedar Lake and seen at Sadler’s Wells three years ago I should imagine dancers enjoy performing this witty piece. An individual dancer jigs around while technicians move equipment, culminating in pointless projections then a stark white screen. Our up-for-anything dancers excel with polished performances deftly moving around with martial arts grunts, poses, grimaces and smiles as they react to tempi in what seems personal interaction but is, of course, tightly controlled. The dancers create part of the rhythmic sound with hand clapping, clicking, gasps and loud breathing with the finest section being where the dancers zip in and out of signature shapes as their character names are said in a quick fire seemingly random succession.
All entertaining and showcases for the individuality of dancers and yes, former apprentices and young dancers are now very much showing their own personalities (watch out for Chris Scott, pictured, and Mattieu Gaffré) and newbies step out into the lights.
But for the sake of those dancers, audiences and frankly other arts companies in Wales who could equally do with the funding, let’s hope the latest artistic director withdrawal marks the end of the craziness, an entire new board is in place before the search for another artistic direction can start without the baggage of recent months. Wales touring: Venue Cymru, March 3, Y Ffwrness, March 25, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, March 16-18, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, April 24 and Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, May 5.
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