© John Ross White Oak 'Early Floating' reviews White Oak Dance Project 'Largo' reviews Baryshnikov in reviews Coates in reviews recent White Oak reviews more PhilipB reviews

Before proceeding, I should mention, and recommend, an infinitely more eloquent and informative review of three of these pieces by Renee in July's magazine.

So He opened the evening with a solo, dressed sharply in a crease-less black silk shirt, open and out, white rib-knit vest and black trousers with silver-buckled leather belt, his blond mane still swept proudly back. Forgive the unusually fashion-conscious review - taking advantage of the great value (if you're over 5'4" anyway, then £22 is a steal) front-row meant I had the best view imaginable, and the abstract nature of some of the dancing meant my attention sometimes strayed from one kind of aesthetic to another.

Lucinda Childs Largo
Photograph by Asya Verzhbinsky ©

Largo is not a showy piece, although the way Baryshnikov dominates the stage and commands your attention with his magnetic charisma means that its subtlety never becomes boring. I would be more than happy for Largo to be extended - it wasn't created on Baryshnikov so maybe Childs could consider an extended remix for when he is dancing it. It was a delightful start to the show and, despite not extending him physically, showcased his musicality, smoothness, elegant phrasing and general class to a receptive audience. Unlike some previous outings, it seemed we were not be short-changed on his stage time.

A short pause and then into Trio A Pressured No. 3 (originally called Trio A it has been revised and increased in tempo since its debut in 1966, hence its current name), which opens dramatically with both sides of the stage fully revealed and the stage brightly lit. Stagehands continue to work along the sides, machines carry on flashing their little green lights and the dancers rest, drink water and relax between parts. Of course, this is distracting, both initially and throughout, but one would consider that if they have deliberately revealed this normally-sacrosanct private area then it must be part of the performance and therefore it is ok to peek.

Further increasing the dramatic staging was that venerable technique - of silence. As the bright lights and unexpectedly vast open space of the stage overloaded our visual sense the dancers began in complete, contrasting, silence, and continued so for 10 minutes or so. Fortunately it isn't official coughing season so it worked quite well, but when the music did start, much relief was expectorated around the theatre.

The piece started with athletic characters warming up, not quite entering each other's orbit but seemingly in loose tandem. Then Baryshnikov gives a nice cameo by following (I think) Rosalynde LeBlanc through her movements, always trying to look into her eyes (his body language almost boyish), but never invading her personal space. Even when she bends down towards the floor he will be there looking back up at here, seeking whatever it is he is searching for.

Finally 7 dancers pick up the tempo to the RnB classic In The Midnight Hour and it would be disingenuous not to mention how much like a Gap ad it resembled, with the dancers perhaps a little more spaced out than on TV. Baryshnikov joins them towards the end and I think the momentum that builds throughout the piece deserved the applause it received at the climax.

After the first of two intervals we had the longer Early Floating, for three boys and a girl. The main, or only, stage design was a large... well - child's mobile? Protein molecule diagram? Not sure but it was colourful and the lights were picked up by it very nicely. The 4 dancers wore black leotards that bore some resemblance to pre-war bathing costumes, but with the same graphics hand-stitched on matching the Big Mobile - Baryshnikov had a wavy green cross on his back and Emily Coates a fiery red pattern around her waist moving lower which, at least to me sitting a few feet away, highlighted things rather more than was subtle. Rather more subtle was the choreography, leaving the dancers to their own devices but then, often suddenly and without warning, bringing at least two of them into sharp synchronisation. Overall, I found it to be an interesting study of intimacy and relationships.

Erik Hawkins' Early Floating
Photograph by John Ross ©

The star of this piece, who would be recognised as such by the audience at the end, despite Baryshnikov almost stealing the show with a glorious finale, was Emily Coates. Sometimes struggling for strength in her balances she always exuded pleasure in her dancing and the dreamy sequences were never dull with her to watch. At one point the feather-cloud choreography turned into something more definite, with a short exploration of a Tai Chi-style sequence.

At the end, the other dancers left the stage and Baryshnikov entered, looking slightly lost. But he picked up the vibe left behind by the others and starts to, almost subconsciously, dance, gradually getting more and more energetic until his spins, neither strained nor consciously aiming to excite, took your breath away. He walked back from the stage front, giving a cheeky look back the audience as the lights go out. They loved it.

For me, this was possibly the most enjoyable part of the evening - Largo is pure class, but so dramatic and full of hidden, and revealed, sadness that I think one could be excused for classifying Early Floating as more fun.

Another interval and finally to Chacony, a piece more influenced by classical ballet than the others, and also one that had echoes of Childs' earlier Largo. This wasn't an especially memorable piece, evidenced by the fact that I can't remember much about it, despite it being the last work. I do recall seeing some attempts at jetes and other ballet vocabulary which makes it all the more mystifying why it didn't stick in my mind.

I think it was sedate end to the evening but I doubt that Baryshnikov was trying to create a classic theatre finale - he seems quite happy to be taking the path less travelled by, and I was glad to watch a small step. His dancing fashion may have changed, but his class remains.