Shoes at The Peacock Theatre

After a rather desperate dash to the Peacock Theatre my cousin and I were very relieved to find we had two minutes to spare before the performance of SHOES. It is the newest offering from Sadler’s Wells' dance company extraordinaire, and quite simply takes us through the ages commenting on the progress of footwear, slipper to stiletto, and illustrates how our culture has evolved into the shoe frenzied lot we are today.

The Peacock Theatre, near Holborn is spacious and provides well for movement productions. And this show certainly needs space, designer Tom Pye has created a very ambitious set with many complex props coming on and off stage for each number. The structure of the show immediately struck me as being a little bizarre, with a lack of sensible story. The musical is a collage of short and sweet dance numbers, some of which are better than others, but as a whole the show lacks coherence.

The cast includes four singers who impressively perform most of the show's music. At the start I found them a little too shrill for my taste but as they warmed up they improved and did, on the whole, provide some enjoyable commentary. The songs tend to drag on, much of the repetition is not needed. Having said that I absolutely love the final song before the intermission, ‘Desire: The Brand’. A group of women dressed as nuns sing a hypnotising hymn-like piece about the most popular shoe designers: Jimmy Choo, Prada, Louboutin etc. It is actually quite beautiful, and amusing too, thanks to clever lyrics and perfect timing.

The dancing is exciting and thoughtfully choreographed by Stephen Mear and his team. They use the variety of footwear to the best of their ability and manage to include several different types of dance... the tap dancing in platforms is particularly inventive. The sequence, ‘Old Shoes’ stands out in the second half, a hysterical number about a pair of wedding shoes passed through the generations.

This is an interesting concept for a show, and a lot of work has clearly gone into the production, though I fear it is a show that really needs to find its feet before it succeeds completely.

SHOES continues until 3 April 2011. Book here.

TRACES at The Peacock Theatre

Traces is certainly a show with a twist. It was first seen in the UK in 2007 at the Edinburgh Fringe, and is now making an impact on London audiences at Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre. This is a thrilling circus type show from Canadian company Les 7 Doigts de la Main.

Interestingly a number of art forms are combined – while one performer dances, another draws on a projector screen and a third accompanies on the piano. The energy is buoyed by the atmospheric music (very well chosen I thought) and the immaculately timed fast lighting changes. I found the narrative a little disorientating; it is set in a makeshift urban warehouse with five characters living out what they believe could be their final days. This confusion only intensified my experience. The players tell stories about their pasts, touchingly sharing with us their personal strengths and weaknesses.

The urgency and precision of the show is attention grabbing from start to finish. The five performers excel, leaping across the stage with confidence and gusto. The acrobatic skills of the young cast (Antoine Carabinier Lepine, Antoine Auger, Genevieve Morin, Philip Rosenberg and Jonathan Casaubon) are alone enough to bring in a large audience.

Traces has both solo showcases and ensemble pieces, held together with speech and musical numbers. They incorporate a wide variety of circus skills within the show; of these the German wheel and the Chinese poles were my favourite, although there is a real wow-factor from the teeterboard act, where a seesaw-like jumping board is used to hurl one performer high into the air.

This is an awe inspiring show that reminded me of the great Cirque de Soleil.

Traces continues at The Peacock Theatre in Holborn until 30 October 2010.

Tanguera at Sadler's Wells

Sadler’s Wells in Islington is one of London’s most prestigious dance venues. I have always had enjoyable experiences at this theatre despite my limited knowledge of dance. Last year I was lucky enough to see their breathtaking production of West Side Story. A few days ago I went back for more and watched Tanguera.

The Argentinian show, Tanguera is showing at Sadler’s Wells for a limited run, after selling out all over the world. Sure enough on Tuesday night the auditorium was packed to the brim and the audience around me were enthralled, with several people on their feet joining in. I hope the rest of the run does as well because the full theatre makes the atmosphere electric.

The storyline of Tanguera is a bit lack-lustre, and often the narrative of what is essentially a dance production can be unnecessarily contrived. However as ‘tanguera’ translates to ‘tango musical’ some kind of story is inevitable. There is no doubt that this cast is very talented. Leticia Fallacara is enchanting as the innocent Giselle, dancing with speed and precision but also creating a seductive lead character. There are some impressive routines too from the men, all dancing together in playful sequences. Some soulful vocal accompaniment is provided by Marianella, who has triumphed in many productions including her critically acclaimed interpretation of the role of Grizabella in ‘Cats’.

The music is beautiful throughout Tanguera, I could have listened to it alone all night. The show begins with a short interlude from the six piece band, this is charming and illustrates the musician’s natural understanding of the music they are interpreting. The musical ensemble is made up of two bandoneons (a type of concertina instrument similar to an accordion), piano, double bass, guitar and violin, all parts interweaving to create a full and dramatic sound.

I enjoyed the encore most. A powerful 10 minutes of Tango dancing that was far more passionate than the narrative that had preceded it. An overwhelming surge of energy washed over the stage and it was here that I felt the power of the movement as well as the rich culture of Buenos Aires.

Tanguera continues at Sadler’s Wells until 22 August 2010.