Rambert featuring Rooster (Tour – Salford)
Little Red Rooster is on the prowl – and this time he has come to entertain audiences at The Lowry, in Salford.
Featured as part of a Rambert triple bill, Christopher Bruce’s Rooster is ultimately what gives this production its four star rating – the iconic and much-loved piece of choreography being as energetic, as enthralling and as a sassy as it was years ago.
Set to Rolling Stones classics, such as "Paint it Black", "Lady Jane", and of course "Little Red Rooster", dancers interpret the music to perfection, with their impressive use of stage, characterisation, and superb comic timing. In particular, the mostly solo performance of "Ruby Tuesday" provides a stand-out moment.
Nonetheless, although you see why the timeless Swinging Sixties routines have been placed at the very end of the production – save the best to last, after all – the positioning has not worked in Rambert’s favour.
At the opening night of the company’s showcase, some audiences left the theatre after the first piece of choreography. Perhaps those not coming from a dance background found it too self-indulgent, perhaps they did not appreciate the technique and the fluidity of the dancers’ movement that I saw being a dancer myself.
A shame, since "Rooster" combines all the same style and quality but in a more accessible manner. Going into the first of two intervals, I actually commended "The Strange Charm of Mother Nature". Although too repetitive at times, you cannot argue that members of this company are masters of their art, as they glide across the stage with ease and flawless control, without any reliance on complex lighting rigs or impressive sets.
Choreographed by Mark Baldwin and set to a Stravinsky score, there is such an eclectic mix of solo, duet and unison performances throughout the piece that you feel you need to see it again to do it justice.
On the contrary, the next performance of "Sounddance" is set to such a horrific sound landscape (imagine the sound of a tape rewinding, but on full volume, and with added noise) that you cannot wait for the piece to come to an end.
Outdated and uncomfortable to listen to, the "music" used in this Merce Cunningham piece actually distracts from the dancers’ ability. At times, you feel like you are in a rehearsal room, watching the performers playing trial and error, seeing what works and what doesn’t.
Of course, some of it does (the intertwining of bodies, for example, is pleasing to the eye), but on the most part this mish-mash of movement just does not show the dancers off to their full potential. So much so that on the night I watched the production, when the curtains went down, one audience member turned around and said "What just happened".
All in all, this isn’t the hat trick of successes you would expect from such an acclaimed dance company. But hang in there, the magic at the end of the production is well worth the wait.
Rambert featuring Rooster is at the Lowry until 3 October.
