Dance Review: balletLORENT

Published on Sunday 22 March 2009 18:18

BALLETLORENT: DESIGNER BODY *** TRAVERSE THEATRE, EDINBURGH

THIS is first time the Newcastle-based balletLORENT has visited Scotland – and if they don't come back again soon, we may have to go down and get them. Choreographer Liv Lorent has previously created two stunning works for Scottish Dance Theatre. This time, she came to Scotland with her own company and the simple, yet devastatingly effective, Designer Body.

At first, it's not obvious the dancers are even there. Performed in the round, we enter the theatre to find seven revolving turntables covered with material. When the lights dim, the mounds of silk and brocade slowly come to life, as three men and four women emerge from their cocoons.

Created by fashion designer Paul Shriek, the costumes have an opulent, Victorian feel. Wrapped in layers of beautiful fabric, with elaborate hats and make-up, the dancers radiate the confidence of catwalk models as they spin.

But 50 minutes later, everything has changed. Aided by subtle wind machines, the dancers have derobed, baring their body and soul to the capacity crowd. Folded into a foetal position on the turntable, they exude vulnerability mixed with the hopefulness of rebirth. Dry ice, a surround sound score by Zoviet:France and delicate lighting all conspiring to create an almost science-fiction atmosphere.

That Lorent's imagination contained so many different ways to stand on a plinth is remarkable. Even more remarkable, however, is the emotional effect that nudity can have when presented in the right way.