Les Ballets C de la B – Ashes

One of the most striking choreographic tends of recent years is so-called character-based work. Unlike ballet, where a set of rules are handed down from the experts, character work draws on the bodies and abilities of the dancers, whatever their shape or range. It’s linked to so-called free-dance, and what you’d call Expressionistic dance, as it invariably involves a lot of angsty rolling around.

Character-based dance is not for the faint-hearted, but those with strong-ish constitutions lap it up. Alain Platel’s Les Ballets C de la B is one of its leading exponents. The troupe is based in Belgium and are regular visitors to London where they are best remembered for Wolf, a piece by Platel himself which feature 14 dogs running around.

In its latest work by Koen Augustijnen, C de la B explores ideas of impermanence, and the tricks we use to distract ourselves from not wanting to let go – be it from family, lovers or life.

The 90-minute work features a wonderful set, which looks like concrete housing destroyed by flood, two singers, five musicians, an intriguingly designed program, and nine dancers who have style and strength and a deceptively informal manner. Critics often mistake this informality for a disinterest in formally structuring a work – that is, giving is a neat beginning, middle and end with obvious musical and choreographic sign posts.

In fact, the lack of conventional structure is the way Augustijnen reminds us that conventions are illusory, at least the ones we use to stave off death, although that’s not to say he has a complete grip on things. Sections of Ashes drag on, and the ending is a long time coming. However, it uneasily reveals the most poignant of emotional truths.