Rambert Dance, Hall for Cornwall Oct 31st 2025

 Rambert Dancers performed ‘Bring your own’ in collaboration with (LA)HORDE at Hall for Cornwall, Truro October 31st 2025

 

 

 

Drawing I made during the first part of the show-in the dark. 

Rambert have been changing. They used to present very beautiful abstract works, lots of dancers in skintight colourful costumes, often performing in unison with impressive skill. 
The skill, commitment and unison moves are still there but the mood has changed.

In the first piece, ‘Hop(e)storm.’ Women threw themselves at men, who dragged them back to be left at a distance. This was repeated for about five minutes, followed by the couples instead dancing in wildly exaggerated Lindy hop inspired ways, to mostly strange electronic noises. Some of it was humerous, all of it energetic.

This was followed by ‘Weather is sweet’ . The relevance  of the title was unclear. Dancers interacted in ways suggesting sexual contact, although later in the question session we were told the bottom pushing down to the floor  movements were inspired by basket ball. It was very inventive and rather puzzling with circus elements, a savage playground of lots of yanking of bodies, jittery, masturbatory  gestures and no feeling - like an automated fury of sex. The sound was unpleasant electronic noises but mercifully not too loud.

Lastly after the interval we saw ‘Room with a view’. Not at all a reference to EM Forster or Noel Coward. In this a varied crowd of dancers moved with increasing frenzied  unpleasantness, running in circles, gesturing rudely at the audience, shouting and ending up looking like a group of medieval flagellants.
I found it a tedious overload of exhausting menace and despair. 

The audience were very appreciative of it all. The screamers and whoopers were in. I couldn’t see anyone else refraining from applause in protest at being trapped as the focus of abusive angry outpouring. Turning the house lights on briefly emphasized the assault. Maybe the applause was just admiration for the dancers‘ stamina or identification with alienated rage?.
To be sure it was very competently done.

The Q and a session was mildly interesting but no critical questions were asked  - my waving hand was not selected. It was admitted that the response at all venues  was not always so supportive. In Cornwall we don’t get much post modern dance to see and hear so maybe anything however agonised is welcome drama.

I wished the online reviews had been more informative of the ordeal offered. 
I will consider carefully if I want to attend next year - Rambert have removed themselves from the aesthetically pleasing with a vengeance with this programme.

Excruciating Noise

Doesn’t anyone else mind the excessive mind-numbing sound levels that some dance companies are playing their music at?

I left ‘Some like it hip-hop’ at the interval because the noise level was too loud for me.

This week, ever hopeful, I went to see ‘Freedom’ by the Vardimon company.
The noise level this time was well over my pain threshold and I had to rush out and ask for my money back after sitting with my hands jammed into my ears for a few minutes. 

Disturbingly, I could not exit through two doors labelled ‘fire door’ because they were locked shut.

It looks as if I’ll have to stop going to Hall for Cornwall. My husband also found the noise level far too loud and was glad to leave.
Is everyone else so deaf it doesn’t bother them or too afraid to complain?
Anyway, two wasted drives from St.Ives, car parking, programmes and expensive tickets - I will restrain myself from booking for anything else and hope the Moscow ballet and Rambert dance are as wonderful as usual as I have those tickets already.

Oh yes, and Vardimon had no interval, making the assault on your ears more of an ordeal and depriving Hall for Cornwall of useful refreshment revenue and all the small audience of being able to meet and chat with fellow cognoscenti of the dance circuit.

Hall for Cornwall should issue noise level warnings, ask companies to not be painfully loud, and keep fire exits unlocked.

Sometimes ‘Freedom’ is leaving.

Mary Fletcher.

Nederlands Dance Theatre 2

NDT2     Nederlands dans Theatre   Truro Hall for Cornwall March 2012

‘Gods and Dogs ‘ choreographed by Jiri Kylian

This first dance was fast moving, the performers using strange ungainly attitudes and unusual movements with amazing skill, fitting the melody and rhythms of the Beethoven based soundtrack. There were also unusual additions such as a twitchingcurtain of long strands and a projection of the vivid image of a wolf or dog above the dancers’ heads. I hadn’t the least idea what it was about. I’d decided to watch the whole program and see what I thought before reading the notes, only to find no explanations at all in the notes. It was a great display, received with enthusiasm by Truro’s audience. The screamers were here  in the back row which makes it sound very exciting and I thought the dancers looked almost surprised by the wild enthusiasm.

‘Deja Vu’, Hans van Menen, followed. My companion asked me if we’d seen it before.

The music, by Arvo Part, was again the focus, with dancers often mirroring one another, more fluidly this time.

‘Solo’, also choreographed by van Manan, was the most beautiful of the works, 3 men appearing by turns, each with their own style of movement, dancing closely with the Bach violin suite, and at the end all on stage together. They were all marvellous dancers but Jianhu Wang was my favourite, there was something so infectiously bouyant and easy about his jumps and twizzles.

Lastly came ‘Cacti’ by Alexander Ekman, also danced to lovely classical pieces by Haydn, Beethoven and Mahler. In this the dancers had square plinths to move on and around and to move the positions of, which they did, wittily appearing from behind them so we saw a head or arm etc. They also had cacti of various shapes,which they moved about, the word cacti was used in lights at the sides and a voice made statements about the post modern which also conveyed the pretentiousnous of the art world. Men and women wore similar costumes, very simple as in all the pieces NDT2 danced in this program. The dance was witty and the whole thing was absurd in a lovable, zany way.

As so often in dance I was left very impressed by the level of performance and the number of inventive ideas. In the non dance visual arts there is often so very little to see as if artists have not put in the effort or actually seek to bore the audience.

In dance it is still sufficient to move to music in a way that totally absorbs the audience in a delightful collaboration, a total concentration of audience and performer that leaves me refreshed and invigorated despite my arms aching from applauding. Also I find myself still wanting to wonder about the meanings. I find ideas for ballets as yet unformed are germinating in my mind. There’s a lot choreographers could use, I’d love to colaborate with one, or I might just use the ideas in my paintings.

I’d love to see the other repertoire of NDT2 and hope they visit us again soon.