ENB C. Grosso reviews ENB Country G. reviews ENB C. Grosso Performances Hampson pages

The main reason (if not the only reason!) for going to Crewe was to see Christopher Hampson's third piece for ENB - Concerto Grosso. It's a real cracker of a ballet. Very different from the two earlier pieces: where they were light and buoyant, Grosso is altogether more sophisticated, serious and elemental.

The music is by Schnittke and new to me. Schnittke produced 6 concerti grossi of which this is the third, and written as recently as 1985. It is based on Bach but there are many other references in there including Stravinsky, Vivaldi, Frank Martin (Las Hermanas) and some minimalist 'tunes' as well.

The designs, by Fido (Gary Harris), along with the lighting, are worthy of more than a few paragraphs in their own right. The costumes are silver grey and have an almost velvet look. The men - 5 of them - are all dressed identically and stripped to the waist. The one girl, Daria Klimentova, has a cat suit (of the same material). The sets are mainly white with a delicious backcloth of frost on white, a kind of monotone Jackson Pollock. The lighting almost animated the backdrop at times and the whole set, while simple and sophisticated, took on lots of different characters - just like the music indeed. The most amazing effect was a kind of fuzzy purple Northern Lights. Now I've never actually seen the Northern lights of course, but I've seen pictures in the Sunday supplements and the effect was a real humdinger.

Hampson's choreography is much tighter and more controlled and this time he tends to treat his dancers much more as individuals rather than as a group. Echoing the musical mimicry you see more than a few fragments of others' choreographic style, definitely some Balanchine, and some Forsythe influences as well. But this is ballet with a capital 'B' and nobody should think that he has gone off on some wild tangent.

The boys come on for solos, and in various other combinations, including Daria who is both boy and girl at times. There is a controlled pdd with Daniel Jones and some thrilling original lifts and balances. I just love the standing jump that Daria suddenly does, apparently with nobody lined up catch her. It's fast at times but less of the gay abandon and happy smiles of his earlier pieces. He needed to do something different and he has - seriously good stuff and it will repay lots more viewings.

Daria Klimentova was sharp and threatening in the lead, in a Balanchine detached way. A frightening steely technique. Dmitri Gruzdyev, as ever, jumped higher, turned faster and committed more. Daria and he often dance together, but I have yet to see them as a couple - and must (Swan Lake I expect).

Hampson has created a really serious abstract piece and to my eye is more than the equal of what we've recently seen on the Dance Bites tour - and remember it was one of the better tours for accessible dance. Such a comparison seems to sell Grosso short and I'm tempted to talk it up more, because it was such an interesting and entertaining piece - a stunning combination of music, designs, lighting and choreography and it is so rare that it all comes together - but can I be trusted you say!? Have I been bribed with too many pints of Guinness!? Well the only way you can tell is to go and see it yourself.

Of course there are other great things to enjoy on this tour as well. It was particularly nice to see Ben Stevenson's Three Preludes. I normally think of Stevenson as a producer of full-length evening pieces which are pleasant. Just pleasant! But this early piece (from 1969) seems of greater merit altogether. Essentially it's three love poems and shows 2 dancers growing relationship. Klimentova and Coppen brought it to life I thought.

There were two Pas de deux in this part of the programme as well. Le Corsaire was a bit of silly and showy fun. The Romeo and Juliet Balcony pdd was danced by Tamara Rojo and Nathan Coppen. It's the Deane version (ie the one he did for the Royal Albert Hall last year) and stripped of the larger context it does not compare particularly well with the MacMillan which is often performed similarly. Tamara Rojo also seemed a bit more distant somehow. Even so she is a lovely Juliet (and the balcony did not move!)

The final piece of a good value evening was The Grand Pas from Paquita. Tamara Rojo and Dmitri Gruzdyev led out the fun. This tour could well be called the tall girls tour because the corps and soloists selected all tend to be taller. Which made for some fun on a small stage with such grand stuff - thank goodness they had taken 4 dancers out of it! But even a slightly muffled sound system was not going to ruin anybody's fun and the audience loved it all.