Less than the sum of its parts

Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
Queen Elizabeth Hall, 6 March 2007

Faultline / Exit No Exit

It’s enormously frustrating when a professional company with a good reputation and excellent collaborators of all kinds dishes up a disappointing double bill for the second time in a row. Accompanied by a total non-dance type I was hoping for an artistic and cultural mashup that would be relevant, engaging, gritty and surprising – something to draw the other person in. Having seen “Flicker” performed alongside “Exit No Exit” before, I was hoping that “Faultline” would appeal to me more than “Flicker” had, and that the double header would at least be evenly balanced in quality.

“Faultline” started off really promisingly with some excellent film from the streets of somewhere that may well have been Hounslow featuring Asian ‘yoots’ hanging out, looking shifty, feeling edgy. There was definitely tension and this was perpetuated through the piece by the score which was cut through with an amazing live soprano voice from Patricia Rozario. Where I didn’t get any anxiety or impact was from the dancing – which is a real shame because I really do rate the company. Apart from the obvious stylistic nods to merging and meshing dance styles; Indian, hip hop, martial arts and contemporary dance all tagged and referenced, I came away feeling annoyed and my comrade bemused with me reassuring him that I didn’t “get it” either.

“Exit No Exit” was definitely better but it wasn’t so good it made up for the first half. It’s a pretty depthless piece, pleasant and pacy but not stunning or moving. Mavin Khoo was excellent as the central figure of the piece, trapped on stage yet coolly revelling in the experience and dipping in and out of the ensemble around him. Always good to see a musician perched on a wooden tower in one corner too and the Michael Nyman score was a pleasure after the strains of tense electro-opera.

So, I don’t get why but Shobana Jeyasingh disappoints me. It’ll take something pretty special, performance wise, and probably a press ticket to get me to go again.

Londonist does ballet news

Carlos Acosta excitements & East London Dance/Royal Ballet flirtation covered here.