Dance review: Rambert Dance Company - Theatre Royal, Glasgow

By Kelly Apter
Published on 05/11/2011 00:00

MARK Baldwin danced with Rambert for ten years before becoming artistic director in 2002. As a result he knows his company inside out and upside down, so it’s no wonder this exceptional group of dancers wear his work like a second skin.

Freshly created by Baldwin, and enjoying its Scottish premiere on Thursday night, Seven for a secret, never to be told is a joyful work that captures the very essence of childhood. Schooled by Rambert’s scientist-in-residence, Baldwin has injected fundamental aspects of childlike behaviour into the piece. Dancers skip, tumble, engage in slow-motion pillow fights, walk on buckets, hold tea parties and generally enjoy each other’s company.

Backed by a wonderful score, adapted and augmented from Ravel by Stephen McNeff, Seven for a secret, never to be told is the perfect antidote to economic doom and gloom, and a lovely new edition to the Rambert repertoire.

For some, Henrietta Horn’s Cardoon Club will serve the same purpose. Lively, energetic and stylish to the core, it’s a work with all the right intentions but very little soul. Dressed in sharp, sexy costumes, the dancers shake their hips, point their long nail extensions and concentrate on looking cool. Which they do, but at 45 minutes, this piece is just too frivolous to sustain itself.

Paul Taylor, one of the giants of American contemporary dance, showed us how it’s done with Roses, a work filled with romance and fun. But when it comes to Rambert’s dancers, nobody knows how to use them quite like Baldwin.

Rating: ****