An imposing group of hooded figures clamber from the auditorium on to the stage in the first of this double bill of performances by Ballet BC.
The Vancouver-based contemporary dance company is currently touring worldwide, with a stop in Norwich thanks to the Dance Consortium group of theatres.
Crystal Pite’s Frontier marks a foreboding start. With startling use of shadow and light through Tom Visser’s lighting design, the piece explores presence and absence, dark matter, our conscience and our cosmos.
Black-clad dancers support, follow, confront and abduct solitary white-clothed companions, as Owen Belton’s unsettling soundtrack of sunken heart beats, whispered words, clanks and creaks plays out.
The Ballet BC company is joined by four Rambert School students; together they create compelling and concerning shapes, often in short solo sequences.
The second piece, Passing, is initially at least a lighter affair. Johan Inger’s choreography starts in literal mood, as a colourful couple mime a comic copulation (as tastefully as you can) before moving on to pregnancy and an incredible childbirth. It is played for laughs, and nicely performed.
While the choreography remains crisp and intricate, the narrative gets more fractured as we progress. There are hints at childhood, religion, sexuality, and the seasons, but we never regain that clarity of the opening few scenes.
The dance remains superb though: Inger repeatedly uses a motif of a busy stage, with the ensemble skipping or running across it in repetitive movement, while one picks out a different movement for a few seconds before returning to the fold. It has its pinnacle in a stunning movement towards the end where dancers walk purposefully from back to the front of the stage, before dropping and rolling back under the feet of the others, in a busy maelstrom of movement.
The pieces contrast significantly in style and content but are united by their high quality choreography and execution. It’s a treat to have the company in Norwich for one of just seven UK stops on their tour.
- Ballet BC continues at Norwich Theatre Royal until 11 June 2025 then touring internationally.
