'Early Floating' reviews Baryshnikov in reviews Coates in reviews recent White Oak reviews more Lynette Halewood reviews

Lucinda Childs Largo
Photograph by Asya Verzhbinsky ©

He starts off with a solo, Child’s Largo. This is a bit like Eric Clapton starting out a concert with Layla, to get that particular millstone of audience expectations from round his neck. Most of the audience have unquestionably come to see him rather than his company, so that is what we get. I’m looking for words other than ‘casual’ and ‘elegant’ but it’s difficult. Somehow he seems to wear his body with an ease, lightness and elegance that is just denied to the mass of the human race. Walking out of the auditorium later, bodies shuffled and feet dragged, we all looked heavy and lifeless. Baryshnikov seemed to move in some ideal way – of course that is where an arm should go, how a shoulder should move: whatever he does manages to look obvious, right, inevitable.

The choreography which struck me most was Hawkins’ Early Floating, made in 1961 and looking very fresh and alive. Calm, disciplined, controlled, with a very strong performance from Emily Coates. Not a choreographer we have heard much of in the UK and quite striking. The Rainer piece ‘Trio a pressured no A’ was performed partly in silence which seldom works for me (it didn’t here).

I have very seldom been in an audience so predominately female – it was really very striking. The reception was warm but not as rapturous as you might expect.