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The Dante Project
Royal Opera House, london
After an exhilarating run of Don Quixotes, the Royal Ballet has headed down to the deep end for a revival of Wayne McGregor’s 2021 The Dante Project with a magnificent commissioned score by Thomas Adès, set and dressed by Tacita Dean.
The opening cast included William Bracewell (an impressive debut as Dante) and seven other principals, but the soloists shone just as brightly. Calvin Richardson, so deliciously camp as the unwanted suitor in Don Q, showed his versatility as the reptilian Ulysses. Melissa Hamilton brought a sexual charge to McGregor’s chilly acrobatics as Satan. Joseph Sissens was on sizzling form, chaining turns at warp speed, and young Marco Masciari — winner of the 2020 Prix de Lausanne — was vivid and touching as Dante Jr. The ensemble for “The Thieves”, set to Adès’s Shostakovich-inspired galop, ended the first act with an adrenaline rush of grand allegro.
Bracewell had been cast against type in Don Quixote — Basilio’s bravura tricks are not really in his line — but his teasing développés and sudden decelerations created their own kind of thrill. He was an attentive and affectionate partner for the electrifying Fumi Kaneko. The pair are reunited in The Dante Project, but their chemistry feels underexploited and Kaneko’s Beatrice gets only one heartbreaking duet with her devoted poet.
★★★★☆
To December 2, roh.org.uk
Death Trap
Sadler’s Wells, london
Rambert has an enviably wide repertoire, and its mixed bills are usually a stimulating blend of old, new and borrowed choreography, but the company’s autumn tour is a one-man double bill by Ben Duke. His ideas are often good but Death Trap, his “meta dance comedy, full of the turbulence of life and death”, is light on dance and heavy on text.
Cerberus is a vague retelling of the Orpheus myth. There is a strong central section in which the elegantly clad ensemble line-dance from wing to wing, occasionally breaking ranks to show off (Musa Motha and Jonathan Wade both caught the eye), but there is altogether too much chat from Orpheus (Antonello Sangiradi).
Goat, which reimagines The Rite of Spring in a community centre, went down well in 2017 as part of a nicely balanced mixed bill (it also fielded a stronger cast). Twinned with Cerberus, it feels prolix and self-indulgent. The ritual is performed to live renditions of Nina Simone hits plus a dismal up-tempo arrangement of “My Way”.
The scapegoat of the title (Wade again) takes on the sins of the modern world — climate change deniers, seal-killers — which are attached to his body as Post-it notes before he dances himself to death, closely watched by a hovering news reporter and cameraman. Her banalities — “What is your dance about?” — were funny the first time but now feel painfully thin.
The packed house laughed readily, but the strongest moments were danced ones. Wade’s frenzied solo and his man-on-man duet with Dylan Tedaldi were potentially powerful, but the constant interventions by the TV presenter had sabotaged any hope of emotional engagement. Shut up and dance.
★★☆☆☆
To November 25, sadlerswells.com