The Stage

Indigo Children/Breach/Somente/Walk Through A Storm

Published Friday 11 April 2008 at 12:50 by Katie Colombus

What strikes you more than anything in Indigo Children is the sense of closeness and freshness in the dancers’ interpretation of the movement.

Led strictly by Philip Glass’ cascading piano composition, the piece is by Royal Ballet School graduate and RBC choreographic prodigy Liam Scarlett. Here, he is finding his feet in a company with an astonishing amalgamation of strength and elegance that befits his work.

In costumes that highlight the muscle definition and contours of these lithe dancers, they move together like a flock of birds at sunset to a flurry of strings. Despite a few technical flaws in timing and unison, the piece is at the same time powerful and graceful.

The evening’s next short work Breach, sees a lift in tempo with an agile male duet consisting of kicks and throw lifts infused with masculine energy set to a deafening piano score. Next, it’s the girls’ turn to dance together, and there is a similar sense of short and sharp aggressive movement, contradictory directions and stamping balletic movements from the toes to the heel that gives away Shobana Jeyasingh as choreographer of the piece with her signature Bharata Natyam crossover.

Scarlett’s second piece of the evening, Somente, sees a venture into more commercial choreography for the young dance maker. The playful and flirty duet, danced by Stephanie Williams and Darrius Gray, is set to hot guitar music on a warmly lit stage. It is fiery, passionate and fun, although it doesn’t move much - figuratively or emotively speaking.

The evening concludes with a typical Alston recipe of quintessentially English tone, billowing costumes in yellow and grey and movement of strict timing, clarity and well-worn steps. It is perhaps a little too like watching ballet class variations for some tastes.