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Sarah Frater's rating
, Mud in the eye for the doubters
By
Sarah Frater
18 Apr 2007
You win some, you win some. First Sylvie Guillem sells out Sadler's Wells, not once but three times with British dancer-choreographer Russell Maliphant, the last time last month.
Then she sells out Sadler's Wells twice more with British-Bangladeshi dancer-choreographer Akram Khan, first in September 2006 and then last night. It's almost an embarrassment of riches, and mud in the eye for all those who doubt dance.
Guillem is still a star, 20-odd years after she arrived at The Royal Ballet, and this duet with Khan is both a fist-shake and serenade of their respected art forms - his pounding, muscular Kathak, her impossibly beautiful ballet lines.
These are the sacred monsters of the title, two implacable, unforgiving disciplines that want only obedience. Those with a questioning heart rebel, and then mourn, and these twins are present in the piece, as well as humour and joy, and the sense that you can really break the rules only if you're master of them.
Guillem and Khan talk, challenge, tease and spoof each other.
Their solos and duets smile, caress and console. All is spare and luminous - the iceberg-like set, the live music, the funny, clever steps. Hand and hoof, we'll wait on them.
• Until 22 April (0870 737 0337).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (2)
A show by and about two celebrated dancers, Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan, the title Sacred Monsters (from the French Monstres Sacrés) promised an ironic take on their superstar status. Sadly, the irony ends with the title. The 75 minute programme is an unquestioning homage to its two protagonists, who dance (separately and together), and perform passages of dialogue, accompanied by five musicians and vocalists. Khan was trained in the demanding tradition of Kathak, one of the classic Indian dance forms, Guillem in the equally demanding discipline of classical ballet, and both have gone on to explore broader, more contemporary forms of dance. This parallel could have led to some interesting observations on the contrasts between classical and contemporary work. However, the piece lacks dramatic or choreographic substance, and remains essentially an exercise in narcissism.
But then dance is a narcissistic art form, and these are undoubtedly dancers of exceptional ability and presence. The strongest sequence was the traditional Kathak solo choreographed by Gauri Sharma Tripathi, brilliantly executed by Khan with the fast, precise footwork, dazzling turns and and rhythmic intensity characteristic of this dance form. The choreography for Guillem’s solo by Lin Hwai-min, of Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, lacked coherence and originality, but generated some striking images as her extraordinary body metamorphosed into improbable configurations.
- Robee B, Italy, 18/04/2007 23:45
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Lots of upper class older women in the audience.
- Agy, England, 18/04/2007 23:37
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