Resolution! 2008

Published Monday 28 January 2008 at 16:40 by Lyndsey Winship

Resolution!, the Place’s annual series of new choreography is a real lucky dip.

This year there are 117 dance works on show, three each night, including up-and-coming European artists, hand-picked Brits and complete newcomers, so you never know how it’s going to turn out.

Certain performances carry more expectation than others, like the debut choreographic effort from Jonathan Goddard and Yolande Yorke-Edgell, two very talented dancers from the Richard Alston company. Goddard in particular is a hot ticket, winning the award for Best Male Dancer in this year’s National Dance Awards, but of course, being a great dancer is one thing, a great choreographer quite another.

Luckily, Stay At, Goddard and Yorke-Edgell’s piece inspired by the Beat Generation, is thoughtfully crafted and shows plenty of promise. Unsurprisingly, there are arcs and angles that echo Alston’s style but there’s originality too. Goddard riffs over Kerouac’s spoken words, throwing in a shrug, a nod to the text, a hoofer’s trick or two, all with an incredible lightness of touch. He’s an effortlessly riveting performer, bringing out the sophisticated phrasing of the choreography and the metre of the movement.

Elsewhere on the bill, Belgian duo Fabuleus take us on an amusing spree through the joys of dancing to your favourite pop music. Then choreographer Johann Bjorgvinsson experiments with an empty canvas and splatterings of bright green paint, but doesn’t scale the Jackson Pollock-esque heights we might have hoped for.