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Review: The Center Will Not Hold (Sadler's Wells Theatre)

Review by Sam Waite

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Genre is, as a construct, far less rigid than some may believe it to be. While the instinct can certainly exist to pigeonhole work into a neat category, the simple fact is that elements of other genres can bleed easily into work, and this extends to the world of dance. The Center Will Not Hold, the first full-scale production from Dorrance Dance, brings this fact to Sadler’s Wells in an hour of eclectic but united movement, celebrating both the shared vocabulary and the thrilling differences between endless genres of dance.

 


Emerging from a single duet created by Center co-directors Ephrat Asherie and Michelle Dorrance, the show now features the work of no less than thirteen choreographers, Asherie and Dorrance included. With Donovan Dorrance’s original score as its constant backing, and a driving percussion in particular a near-constant driving force, The Center Will Not Hold’s myriad pieces transition smoothly from one to the next, crafting a non-stop hour of movement in which genres both compliment and compete with one another.

 

Critical to the visual storytelling is Kathy Kaufmann’s dynamic, story-driven lighting design. With no set to speak of, it is chiefly Kaufmann who defines where lines both literal and metaphorical are drawn, and whose work creates the senses of separation and entrapment which alternate between and within routines to add a sense of adventure to the work. Changes in lighting, in particular the enlarged spotlights creating a battleground of sorts and the individual squares which seem to physical hold the dancers in place, are so sharp and precise that the hour-long show feels, at times, epic in scale.

 


A company of around eleven dancers is, painfully, too many individuals to spotlight here, but as a company they move in perfect unity even when the specific movements so totally differ. Many names are shared between the lists of dancers and choreographers, and the sense of immersion within the work is captivating throughout, each of these talented performers so perfectly executing their own part while blending beautifully into a connected whole. Whether performing in brief duets or in full-ensemble pieces, every dancer is giving their all to the work in every moment.

 

Amongst the performers is John Angeles, a renowned percussionist whole onstage presence is the literal heartbeat of The Center Will Not Hold. At times behind a full-size drumkit and at others moving about the stage with a wearable set-up, his is the driving rhythm that melds each section of Center together, and his presence is particularly powerful when he and another performer stand in a circle of light, his drumming seeming to both dictate and enter into combat with the tapping of their feet. Tap dance and body percussion are both heavily immersed throughout the performance, and this sense of internal and external rhythms competing and ultimately uniting is undeniably powerful to behold.

 


The Dorrance-composed score does not end with percussion, however, and the music is exciting but unobtrusive throughout, an accompaniment to the dancers rather than something else fighting for focus. With a wide array of genres and vocabularies in the mix, Dorrance’s music manages to feel connected with every moment, neither too traditional for the modern touches nor too contemporary to match more traditional styles. With the company providing so much sound and texture themselves, the music here feels like a true extension of what is happening onstage.

 

If this is what marks the beginning of Dorrance Dance as a full-scale production company, it’s difficult to imagine a future in which they are anything but a dominating force. So open to ideas and collaboration and yet so tightly-woven and lacking in even a hint of error, The Center Will Not Hold is an hour of work that somehow feel much longer but also painfully shorter. With so much to absorb, such powerful presences on stage, and a new style of movement always waiting to emerge, The Center Will Not Hold feels like it could, and should, have gone on for much, much longer. Perhaps one day, gods of dance willing, it will.

 

The Center Will Not Hold plays at Sadler’s Wells Theatre until April 18th 

 


Photos by Christopher Duggan

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