English National Ballet's Body & Soul Double-Bill: A Study in Contrasts
English National Ballet's new production, Body & Soul, presents a double-bill that juxtaposes Crystal Pite's dazzling choreography with Kameron N Saunders' more cumbersome work, Proper Conduct. This pairing results in a solid yet uneven night of ballet, where the dancers' bold commitment shines through despite the lopsided nature of the evening. The performance, reviewed at Sadler's Wells, showcases both the heights of artistic innovation and the pitfalls of heavy-handed moralising.
Crystal Pite's Body and Soul: A Masterpiece of Emotional Depth
Created for the Paris Opéra Ballet in 2019, Crystal Pite's Body and Soul (Part 1) opens with a deceptively simple scene featuring two dancers. One lies still while the other paces back and forth, with a cool, neutral French voiceover describing each movement in precise detail. Tom Visser's overhead lighting snaps on to highlight this intimate moment, setting the stage for Pite's transformative vision.
As the piece unfolds, Pite replays and reframes this initial scene, expanding it into something vast and multifaceted. She replaces one figure with an entire corps de ballet, while Owen Belton's score adds an echo to Marina Hands' recorded voice. The group movement is gorgeously weighted and unified, with dancers appearing driven by a single impulse. When a soloist breaks the flow, the moment of difference shimmers with poetic resonance, like light dancing on water.
Through variations on this core scene, Pite explores themes of connection and emotion. Despite the emotionless description and repetitive steps, the feeling and impact continually evolve. A canon sequence sees movement ripple through the cast, while duets赋予 the same steps with different emotional weight. The final scene, performed by Emma Hawes and Ken Saruhashi, becomes a powerful image of mourning, where he continues the steps only because she holds and rocks his body. This marvellous work is both grand and compassionate, leaving a lasting impression.
Kameron N Saunders' Proper Conduct: A Clunky Moral Narrative
Following Pite's act is a challenging task, and Kameron N Saunders' Proper Conduct struggles to meet the mark. Saunders, an award-winning choreographer and dancer known for collaborations with Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan, brings a rich range of movement to the stage. However, this potential is dragged down by a moralising narrative that feels heavy-handed and overly long.
In Proper Conduct, Jose María Lorca Menchón appears dressed in space-age white, framed by Joshie Harriette's lively lighting in a pyramid of illumination. Menchón plays a totalitarian figure who lectures the audience, adopting poses that are both aggressive and finicking. His amplified voiceover declares that we are in moral danger, lacking understanding of proper conduct.
The production introduces playful, colourful dance sequences for the full company, only to have Menchón wag a finger at their perceived corruption. By the conclusion, all dancers are reduced to white-clad conformity, symbolising a loss of individuality. While Kimie Nakano's costumes are splendid and the overall aesthetic is sleek, Proper Conduct's narrative feels forced and didactic, undermining its artistic merits.
Overall Assessment and Tour Details
This double-bill from English National Ballet offers a night of contrasting experiences. Crystal Pite's Body and Soul stands out as a compassionate and innovative work, while Kameron N Saunders' Proper Conduct falters with its clunky moralising. The dancers, including Swanice Luong, Minju Kang, Sangeun Lee, and Rentaro Nakaaki, bring bold commitment to both pieces, elevating the material with their skill and dedication.
The tour continues until 2 May, providing audiences with an opportunity to witness this lopsided but compelling evening of ballet. For more information, visit the official website. Despite its unevenness, the production highlights the dynamic range of contemporary dance and the ongoing evolution of ballet as an art form.
