Review: New Movement Collective, Les Noces - The Departure ★★★★★
New Movement Collective marks the centenary of Stravinsky and Nijinska’s ground-breaking work Les Noces with the collaborative multidisciplinary Les Noces – A Departure at Woolwich Works
New Movement Collective, Les Noces - The Departure. Photo by ASH
Three cheers for sheer audacity. New Movement Collective (NMC), a group of dance artists intent on pushing the boundaries of choreographic work, has conceived a celebration of Stravinsky and Nijinska’s Les Noces which brings together new music, contemporary dance and even a spell of beatbox, as well as Stravinsky’s powerful score.
They called it Les Noces – The Departure, Stravinsky’s music serving as the starting point for the composers of the two orchestral works that open the programme, as well as for the the beatbox sequence that ends it; and Nijinska’s concept for the new choreography co-created by the nine dancers of NMC.
The whole thing is presented in the refashioned industrial space of Woolwich Works, where the stage resembles a very long catwalk surrounded on three sides by the audience. Orchestra and chorus are placed at the back.
New Movement Collective, Les Noces - The Departure. Photo by ASH
The original Les Noces premiered in 1923 in Paris. Stravisnky composed a score for four vocal soloists, chorus, percussion and four pianos with a Russian libretto; Nijinska's avant-garde choreography set the ballet among Russian peasants in the build up to a wedding, presented as a pre-determined communal ritual in which bride and groom have no say.
Within its broad theme, the exploration of human relations and commitment, Les Noces – The Departure starts with Appels by Andrea Balency-Béarn, a gently engaging orchestral piece inspired by the sound of the bell, prominent in Stravinsky’s piece. Developing an atmosphere, more than a melody, the 10-minute piece rises from a distant plucking sound to a rumbling storm, all the while bringing intimations of Stravinsky. It’s very clever and hugely effective.
Next comes Cage Letters by Yshani Perinpanayagam, the evening’s musical director. Three love letters from the composer John Cage to his life-long lover Merce Cunningham are sung by Ross Ramgobin, his sonorous and expressive baritone blending with Perinpanayagam’s piano to very moving effect.
The dancers take to the stage for their performance of Les Noces proper, and they’re joined by Opera Holland Park chorus and four vocal soloists, singing an English translation of the Russian libretto in rousing manner.
The new choreography builds on Nijinsky’s original concept of a ritual-bound, stifling community. The clustered dancers move together in frenzied, sweeping movements that take them the length of the stage, sometimes with arms rising up to heaven, sometimes flattening themselves on the ground.
It’s engaging and impressive at first, but once its point about community and ritual has been established it appears to go nowhere. Its narrative arc needs developing.
The evening ends what is billed as a ‘rebirth of Stravinsky’s Les Noces through beatbox fusion’ by MC Zani. It is performed by Jack Hobbs and the youngsters of Company Chameleon Youth. The piece draws from Stravinsky’s intricate rhythmic structures, translating them into a contemporary beatbox piece; and the dance, too, riffs on the notion of community, reprising some of the movements of the previous work.
Running at one hour with seamless transition between the four sections, Les Noces - The Departure is a strikingly original and very enjoyable work, a fitting contemporary homage to one of the landmark works of European culture.
They called it Les Noces – The Departure, Stravinsky’s music serving as the starting point for the composers of the two orchestral works that open the programme, as well as for the the beatbox sequence that ends it; and Nijinska’s concept for the new choreography co-created by the nine dancers of NMC.
The whole thing is presented in the refashioned industrial space of Woolwich Works, where the stage resembles a very long catwalk surrounded on three sides by the audience. Orchestra and chorus are placed at the back.
New Movement Collective, Les Noces - The Departure. Photo by ASH
The original Les Noces premiered in 1923 in Paris. Stravisnky composed a score for four vocal soloists, chorus, percussion and four pianos with a Russian libretto; Nijinska's avant-garde choreography set the ballet among Russian peasants in the build up to a wedding, presented as a pre-determined communal ritual in which bride and groom have no say.
Within its broad theme, the exploration of human relations and commitment, Les Noces – The Departure starts with Appels by Andrea Balency-Béarn, a gently engaging orchestral piece inspired by the sound of the bell, prominent in Stravinsky’s piece. Developing an atmosphere, more than a melody, the 10-minute piece rises from a distant plucking sound to a rumbling storm, all the while bringing intimations of Stravinsky. It’s very clever and hugely effective.
Next comes Cage Letters by Yshani Perinpanayagam, the evening’s musical director. Three love letters from the composer John Cage to his life-long lover Merce Cunningham are sung by Ross Ramgobin, his sonorous and expressive baritone blending with Perinpanayagam’s piano to very moving effect.
The dancers take to the stage for their performance of Les Noces proper, and they’re joined by Opera Holland Park chorus and four vocal soloists, singing an English translation of the Russian libretto in rousing manner.
The new choreography builds on Nijinsky’s original concept of a ritual-bound, stifling community. The clustered dancers move together in frenzied, sweeping movements that take them the length of the stage, sometimes with arms rising up to heaven, sometimes flattening themselves on the ground.
It’s engaging and impressive at first, but once its point about community and ritual has been established it appears to go nowhere. Its narrative arc needs developing.
The evening ends what is billed as a ‘rebirth of Stravinsky’s Les Noces through beatbox fusion’ by MC Zani. It is performed by Jack Hobbs and the youngsters of Company Chameleon Youth. The piece draws from Stravinsky’s intricate rhythmic structures, translating them into a contemporary beatbox piece; and the dance, too, riffs on the notion of community, reprising some of the movements of the previous work.
Running at one hour with seamless transition between the four sections, Les Noces - The Departure is a strikingly original and very enjoyable work, a fitting contemporary homage to one of the landmark works of European culture.
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| What | Review: New Movement Collective, Les Noces - The Departure |
| Where | Woolwich Works , The Fireworks Factory, 11 No 1 St, Royal Arsenal, London , SE18 6HD | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Woolwich Arsenal (underground) |
| When |
13 Jan 24 – 14 Jan 24, 19:30 Dur.: 1 hour no interval |
| Price | £26.50 (concessions £20) |
| Website | Click here to book |