the TALENT – Stage review

14 February 2011

After holding open auditions nationwide for fresh young talent, BalletBoyz artistic directors William Trevitt and Michael Nunn showcase their chosen nine dancers in a mixed bill. As always with the Boyz, nothing is straightforward and the evening combines choreography and filmed inserts of the audition process and the dancers in rehearsal, enlivened by Trevitt and Nunn’s characteristically irreverent voice-overs.

Designed to show off the new dancers’ energy, talent and individual skills, the evening opens with a reworking of Russell Maliphant’s Torsion, a tremendously virile and grounded piece enhanced by Michael Hulls’ gilded ochre lighting which highlights the sculpted bodies of the dancers. Whirling arms, wrestling moves and trust games involving balance and strength combine to create a seamless and sensual work whose highlight is Miguel Esteves’ extraordinary series of pirouettes on his knees and toes.

Paul Roberts’ Alpha is a more exotic piece, whose dynamic sensuality, heightened by Shelina Somani’s flowing, Japanese-influenced costumes allows the performers to explore androgyny and a mutual sensuality that is tactile without being overtly feminised.

Jarek Cemerek’s Void, a street-based work under acid white light, is more abrasively hostile. It comes as a rough and ready corrective to the earlier pieces, and it’s sub-DV8 gestures and Rumble Fish combat are effective enough. Just when boredom starts to set in, it concludes with a blazing and well-coordinated flourish as the company leap into the air simultaneously and land in a blackout.

If you want to see the dance equivalent of a hot boy band, look no further. The new ‘Boy Zone’ is officially open.

By Neil Norman

Read the review here