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Agon/Sphinx/Limen

Published Thursday 5 November 2009 at 13:30 by Sarah Wilkinson

Premiering last night, Limen, Wayne McGregor’s exploration of limits and thresholds, is a beautiful sensory contradiction.

Frenetic choreography flits like a crazed butterfly inside the eerily calm space created by Kaija Saariaho’s iridescent score and Tatsuo Miyajima’s evocative lighting plan.

The piece opens with a blue gauze upon which shifting digital numbers are projected. As the numbers count down to some arbitrary temporal climax, the dancers flicker behind in syrupy silhouettes. Once the gauze is lifted, the stage fills with colour and unpredictable movement until a starry backdrop engulfs the dancers in darkness. The final moments of the piece - the dancers barely visible between the pinprick lights, yet defiantly still present - perfectly captures a hazy, subliminal world and although McGregor retains his signature style, here it seems tempered to absorbing effect.

The clean lines of Balanchine’s athletic Agon look hastily sketched and despite an impressive cast, only Yuhui Choe seems able to luxuriate in the choreographer’s quirky demands. His climactic pas de deux provides an ideal showcase for Melissa Hamilton’s extraordinary suppleness, yet there is little to hold our attention in her performance beyond this. Lacking stage presence, she thrusts up her chin in demonstrated confidence and stares vapidly at the assured Carlos Acosta. With such a remarkable physical and technical ability, lets hope that she develops the artistry to match.

Sandwiched awkwardly between Agon and Limen, Glen Tetley’s Sphinx appears clunky and out of date. Marianela Nunez breathes sophistication into the piece, yet even her elegant performance cannot help it stand up against McGregor’s stunningly cerebral premiere.

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