In my 2015 Review of the Year I wrote the following:
Looking at what I have seen and reviewed this year it feels as if 2016 has not been strong as 2015 or 2014 'as a whole', but there have been some memorable and significant pieces of work shown - notably the first two in my personal Best of 2016.
Best of 2016:
COAL - Gary Clarke Company at Contact
Gary Clarke's COAL manages to be deeply personal but also highly effective as a piece of never-more-relevant social history. Combining exciting physicality with earthy humour and genuine warmth - much aided by locally-recruited women community cast members and local brass bands, in addition to a remarkable professional dance cast - COAL is complex, intelligent, emotional and packs a punch that seems to appeal to dance audiences, theatre audiences and the communities affected by those momentous events. COAL is dance theatre in every sense.
Akram Khan's Giselle - English National Ballet at the Palace Theatre
Akram Khan's reworking of Giselle is a good example of the innovation in dance currently taking place in ballet. This was a stunning production with wonderful choreography. The updating of the story gave it a modern resonance and yet remained true to the essential story. Vincenzo Lamagna's new score using elements of the Adolphe Adam original was outstanding and the overall effect was an experience of watching ballet that seemed significantly more modern and overwhelming than the much-loved but familiar fare usually trotted out to the regions. Elements of Khan's choreography was reminiscent of Pina Bausch and Hofesh Shechter, but I don't intend that as a criticism. I was blown away and saw the show twice. I think this is a production that will endure for years to come and I felt privileged to be present at the world première. A real step-change for Akram Khan as a choreographer and contemporary ballet, as seen in the regions.
Read more...
An Anatomie in Four Quarters - Clod Ensemble at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre]
This production was part of a new Lowry festival called Week 53, which appeared to be a conscious effort to remember the creativity of the venue's early years under the artistic directorship of Robert Robson. The times have moved the venue in a necessarily more commercial direction in many ways so this was a welcome injection of exciting new and different work. This show allowed a small audience - just 300 in the 1730 capacity theatre - to experience the Lyric Theatre in a new way: the audience started in the upper circle, moved to the circle, then the stalls and end the show on the stage watching the dancers from behind performing to an empty theatre - which felt like a privilege.
Read more...
32 Rue Vandenbranden - Peeping Tom at HOME
I had been aware of Belgian-company Peeping Tom and their show 32 Rue Vandenbranden for a while so was delighted when it appeared on the schedule at HOME. This show was insane and surreal with some remarkable physical performances on display in a decidedly-odd snowy mountain trailer park setting. Fantastically strange and different.
Institute - Gecko at HOME
Already a fan of Gecko's work having seen two previous shows, Institute did not disappoint. Incredible performances, complex ideas, innovative staging and emotionally connective. Gecko deliver physical theatre like no one else.
Read more...
The Red Shoes - Matthew Bourne's New Adventures at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre]
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella was a great show that failed to deliver Cinderella; his Sleeping Beauty was an incomprehensible mess that demonstrated the dangers of updating stories for the sake of it - although hugely popular with audiences. I had rather fallen out of love with Matthew Bourne. But The Red Shoes has rekindled that love. Cleverly staged, The Red Shoes is narratively clean and pleasingly faithful to the 1948 film, with just the right amount of camp and mocking of 1940s ballet to resonate with modern audiences. Bourne's choreography is some of the best he's ever done and the company deliver impressive narrative and character clarity with tremendous wit and energy. The Red Shoes deserves to be a winner more than some of his string of winners.
to a simple rock'n'roll... song - Michael Clark Company at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre]
The first part of Michael Clark's new trilogy is almost painfully austere and repetitive, as is the Satie score it is set to. But the middle section set to Patti Smith's 'Land' is glorious and the final section set to David Bowie - including a gorgeous setting for 'Blackstar' - was movingly poignant and seemingly-important in this year of Bowie's much-lamented death.
YAMA - Scottish Dance Theatre at The Lowry [Quays Theatre]
Scottish Dance Theatre eschewed the familiar mixed programme of such companies for a full-length worth of extreme beauty with YAMA, choreographed by Damien Jalet. Painstakingly-slow and barely evolving into what could comfortably be described as dancing, YAMA was mesmerising, distinctive, gorgeously-designed and deeply pleasurable.
Read more...
The Peony Pavilion - National Ballet of China at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre]
I think I was foolishly expecting something much more culturally clichéd from the National Ballet of China. Instead we were presented with a strikingly designed and rather lovely modern ballet with a clever mix of new Chinese music and familiar classics, cut through with some unearthly Chinese singing. The performances were excellent - some scenes were extraordinary - and The Peony Pavilion proved to be fresh, exciting and modern ballet that expertly melded East and West.
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Happy Hour - Tmesis Theatre at The Lowry [Aldridge Studio]
Happy Hour proved to be another fantastic piece of physical theatre. There were small resonances with Gecko's Institute - the office setting, the meaninglessness of work - but this show was pitched very differently: bright, hilarious and brilliantly performed with impressive conviction, physical skill and whip-sharp timing. Modern anxiety expertly dissected.
Read more...
The best of the rest...
Altogether in 2015 I managed to see an unexpected 34 dance shows (this is stretched a little as I have counted physical theatre and some other kinds of physical performance.)
Dance Theatre 2 | Contemporary Dance 16 | Student Companies 3 | Ballet 7 | Physical Performance 3 | Festival 1 | Physical Theatre 2
The inevitability of the major companies that tour annually endures. Graduate touring companies appear to have fallen away this year in favour of smaller-scale, often obscure, studio and installation-based work. The audience-pleasing reassurance of circus and cirque still seems to give programmers - or the financial controllers behind (or in the way of) programmers - comfort and safety from programming scary new work by new or less well-known companies. The middle tier of dance seems to be increasingly the invisible one.I'm not sure I have anything useful to add to that. Graduate touring seems to be in major trouble. Cirque is still popular. The only companies that seem to be doing well are the well-funded, well-established ones. Ballet seems to the current home of innovation and I still believe that the middle tier of companies are struggling, with fewer dancers and smaller tours. How this equates to the seeming lack of creativity in this sector - money is short so development is short and risk - which venues have progressively pushed onto companies - is high? it is hard to say. But this year it is starting to look as if the only people really safe are the major players with potentially broad-appeal; people working very much from the grass-roots and outside of traditional venues; and anyone that can get work programmed into festivals - where dance appears to be supported in a way that it barely is on its own.
Looking at what I have seen and reviewed this year it feels as if 2016 has not been strong as 2015 or 2014 'as a whole', but there have been some memorable and significant pieces of work shown - notably the first two in my personal Best of 2016.
Best of 2016:
 |
| COAL - Gary Clarke Company |
COAL - Gary Clarke Company at Contact
Gary Clarke's COAL manages to be deeply personal but also highly effective as a piece of never-more-relevant social history. Combining exciting physicality with earthy humour and genuine warmth - much aided by locally-recruited women community cast members and local brass bands, in addition to a remarkable professional dance cast - COAL is complex, intelligent, emotional and packs a punch that seems to appeal to dance audiences, theatre audiences and the communities affected by those momentous events. COAL is dance theatre in every sense.
 |
| English National Ballet - Giselle |
Akram Khan's Giselle - English National Ballet at the Palace Theatre
Akram Khan's reworking of Giselle is a good example of the innovation in dance currently taking place in ballet. This was a stunning production with wonderful choreography. The updating of the story gave it a modern resonance and yet remained true to the essential story. Vincenzo Lamagna's new score using elements of the Adolphe Adam original was outstanding and the overall effect was an experience of watching ballet that seemed significantly more modern and overwhelming than the much-loved but familiar fare usually trotted out to the regions. Elements of Khan's choreography was reminiscent of Pina Bausch and Hofesh Shechter, but I don't intend that as a criticism. I was blown away and saw the show twice. I think this is a production that will endure for years to come and I felt privileged to be present at the world première. A real step-change for Akram Khan as a choreographer and contemporary ballet, as seen in the regions.
Read more...
 |
| Clod Ensemble - An Anatomie in Four Quarters |
An Anatomie in Four Quarters - Clod Ensemble at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre]
This production was part of a new Lowry festival called Week 53, which appeared to be a conscious effort to remember the creativity of the venue's early years under the artistic directorship of Robert Robson. The times have moved the venue in a necessarily more commercial direction in many ways so this was a welcome injection of exciting new and different work. This show allowed a small audience - just 300 in the 1730 capacity theatre - to experience the Lyric Theatre in a new way: the audience started in the upper circle, moved to the circle, then the stalls and end the show on the stage watching the dancers from behind performing to an empty theatre - which felt like a privilege.
Read more...
 |
| Peeping Tom - 32 Rue Vandenbranden |
32 Rue Vandenbranden - Peeping Tom at HOME
I had been aware of Belgian-company Peeping Tom and their show 32 Rue Vandenbranden for a while so was delighted when it appeared on the schedule at HOME. This show was insane and surreal with some remarkable physical performances on display in a decidedly-odd snowy mountain trailer park setting. Fantastically strange and different.
 |
| Gecko - Institute |
Institute - Gecko at HOME
Already a fan of Gecko's work having seen two previous shows, Institute did not disappoint. Incredible performances, complex ideas, innovative staging and emotionally connective. Gecko deliver physical theatre like no one else.
Read more...
The Red Shoes - Matthew Bourne's New Adventures at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre]
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella was a great show that failed to deliver Cinderella; his Sleeping Beauty was an incomprehensible mess that demonstrated the dangers of updating stories for the sake of it - although hugely popular with audiences. I had rather fallen out of love with Matthew Bourne. But The Red Shoes has rekindled that love. Cleverly staged, The Red Shoes is narratively clean and pleasingly faithful to the 1948 film, with just the right amount of camp and mocking of 1940s ballet to resonate with modern audiences. Bourne's choreography is some of the best he's ever done and the company deliver impressive narrative and character clarity with tremendous wit and energy. The Red Shoes deserves to be a winner more than some of his string of winners.
 |
| Michael Clarke Company - to a simple rock'n'roll... song |
to a simple rock'n'roll... song - Michael Clark Company at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre]
The first part of Michael Clark's new trilogy is almost painfully austere and repetitive, as is the Satie score it is set to. But the middle section set to Patti Smith's 'Land' is glorious and the final section set to David Bowie - including a gorgeous setting for 'Blackstar' - was movingly poignant and seemingly-important in this year of Bowie's much-lamented death.
 |
| YAMA - Scottish Dance Theatre |
YAMA - Scottish Dance Theatre at The Lowry [Quays Theatre]
Scottish Dance Theatre eschewed the familiar mixed programme of such companies for a full-length worth of extreme beauty with YAMA, choreographed by Damien Jalet. Painstakingly-slow and barely evolving into what could comfortably be described as dancing, YAMA was mesmerising, distinctive, gorgeously-designed and deeply pleasurable.
Read more...
The Peony Pavilion - National Ballet of China at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre]
 |
| National Ballet of China - The Peony Pavilion |
Read more...
 |
| Tmesis Theatre - Happy Hour |
Happy Hour - Tmesis Theatre at The Lowry [Aldridge Studio]
Happy Hour proved to be another fantastic piece of physical theatre. There were small resonances with Gecko's Institute - the office setting, the meaninglessness of work - but this show was pitched very differently: bright, hilarious and brilliantly performed with impressive conviction, physical skill and whip-sharp timing. Modern anxiety expertly dissected.
Read more...
The best of the rest...
- Correction - VerTeDance at The Lowry [Quays Theatre] A Czech company under the creative direction of Jiří Havelka. During Correction the dancers remained in a line in the same spot for the duration of the show, but it was a fascinatingly complex piece on the nature of freedom and restriction that built to a thrilling and oddly-moving climax.
- Macbeth at HOME Yes, Shakespeare's Macbeth with the addition of choreography by Lucy Guerin. Very stylish.
- Folk - National Dance Company Wales at the Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield A pleasing and varied triple bill from a strong company that don't seem to be able to get a foothold in Manchester.
- NDT2 at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre] A very mixed programme of diminishing returns from a company blessed with outstanding dancers. If Alexander Ekman's closer Cacti had been less frustrating they would probably be featured in the list above. I was struck at the time by the quality of this company.
- Give Me A Reason To Live - Claire Cunningham at The Lowry [Aldridge Studio] Beautiful, challenging and unexpectedly unsettling from a unique performer.
- My Father Was A Terrorist - Igor Vrebac at Contact Not to everyone's taste, not even a dance show as such, but I loved this endurance piece by the charismatic Mr Vrebac.
- Swan Lake - Scottish Ballet at the Liverpool Empire Clean, stylish but emotionally-effective, slightly-stripped back re-imagining by David Dawson of the greatest classical ballet.
- A Room For All Our Tomorrow's - Igor and Moreno at The Lowry [Aldridge Studio] Another charming but challenging show from this likeable couple.
- Shakespeare Triple Bill - Birmingham Royal Ballet at The Lowry [Lyric Theatre] Jessica Lang's contemporary work Wink failed to entirely convince but José Limón's 1948 The Moor's Pavane looked remarkably fresh and clever and Frederick Ashton's The Dream was a delight.
- Soul's Paths - Matrafisc Dance Company at The Wonder Inn Promising first showing of an ambitious promenade work from a new Manchester-based company.
- Disappearing Acts - Flexer & Sandiland at The Lowry [Compass Room] A slow burner in the round for a small audience that ultimately delivered a satisfying and involving experience.
- Turn 2016 at Contact Having missed this two-night festival of new dance for a couple of years it was good to see such a strong programme from local dance artists in 2016.
Altogether in 2015 I managed to see an unexpected 34 dance shows (this is stretched a little as I have counted physical theatre and some other kinds of physical performance.)
Dance Theatre 2 | Contemporary Dance 16 | Student Companies 3 | Ballet 7 | Physical Performance 3 | Festival 1 | Physical Theatre 2