Festival Theatre, Edinburgh -until 22 February 2020
Reviewed by Hannah Plumb
4****
Rambert returns this month to the Festival Theatre with a trio of invigorating movement pieces. For those unfamiliar with their work. Rambert is one of the worlds leading independent dance companies.
The first of the pieces is PreSentient, a revival from 2002. Sharply innovative for its time and it doesn’t lose that now as it still overflows with tension and originality. It’s almost poetic to watch the dancers embody and even respond to the shifting themes and moods of the music. Aided by Lucy Carter’s stunning lighting design which frames this disjointed manner of movement.
We then move on to Marion Montin’s new piece, Rouge. It begins with guitarist, Ruben Martinez lurking on stage in a low hat and smoke billowing around him, encapsulating the mood for this piece with his smokey demeanour. The performers rise from the smoke looking like the coolest people on any Berlin dance floor. The dancers get little chance to display their individuality as they dance in unison to the rhythmic score. While it is enjoyable to watch it lacks an artistic edge and ends up looking more like a well made hip hop music video.
The night ends with Hofesh Schechter’s In your rooms. It’s gloomy look and disjointed movement gives the feel of a cult indie film as Schechter’s voice announces from the darkness “I can do better than that”. It is slick and cool and feels very current. It pins down the fierce emotion of never-ending chaos in a world that ultimately prefers uniformity.