Choreographers: Raúl Reínoso, Norge Cedeño, Thias Suárez, Pontus Lidberg, Maria Rovira, Alexis Fernández and Yaday Ponce
Artistic Director: Carlos Acosta
An evening with Acosta Danza is always the highlight of any season and their latest show 100% Cuban doesn’t disappoint. Delayed by the pandemic and finally arriving at Sadler’s Wells with some new pieces created in the last year, this showcase for choreographers and dancers offers five distinct but beautifully presented expressions of Cuban culture and rhythms.
Surprising the audience is the UK premiere of Norge Cedeño and Thias Suárez’s Hybrid, which tells the story of a group of people trapped in what feels like a bleak totalitarian society where their every movement seems to be controlled, coming from limbs that respond automatically and regardless of their owner. It is visually extraordinary, and across the dance lasting nearly 25-minutes, the dynamic shifts several times as the group coalesce, forming a powerful collective seeking some kind of independence and liberation, a state they achieve about halfway through.
The industrial, metallic composition by Jenny Peña and Randy Araujo is then replaced with a tribal beat that feeds through the choreography with freer movement and a love story of sorts. Staged like a sci-fi thriller, designer Celia Ledón’s bold use of red and orange become successful symbols of oppression and happiness as the story plays out.
Raúl Reínoso’s 17-minute piece Liberto is a complete contrast, a tale of a runaway slave seemingly enchanted by a mysterious woman or goddess, the dance is earthier and, in many ways, more traditionally structured thnt Hybrid, using rigid forms and shapes in bent arms and legs as well as elegant ballet lifts and stretches. Zeleidy Crespo is the star of this piece, displaying effortless flexibility in her movement that creates flow and tonal changes, emphasising the shifts from dark to light, as well as celebration, violence and fear than run through Liberto.
Crespo also shines in the second half of the show in solo piece Impronta by Maria Rovira which begins and ends in tight spotlight before Crespo expands the space, opening up the dance and moving across the stage as Pepe Gavilondo’s music creates a speedier flamenco pace that Crespo responds to by using the skirt of her blue silk dress to create patterns as she moves.
But Act 2 is dominated by two pieces that are infused by the expansive sweetness of the classic Hollywood musical that track rhythmic changes across a single day; first Pontus Lidberg’s Paysage, Soudain, la nuit establishes a pastoral scene echoed in Leo Brouwer’s music and Karen Young’s costumes. Celebrating youth, Lidberg’s choreography conjures a warm summer’s day and night, the dropped shoulders and slow spins evoking a lazy contentedness in the characters whose idyllic day turns into a festival at night.
Likewise, final piece De Punta a Cabo from 2016 suggests a similar heat, set at the beach as a group of syncopated dancers evolve from an Americanised In the Heights choreography to looser salsa rhythms as the sun sets. An all day and night party with a group of friends, Alexis Fernandez and Yaday Ponce’s 18-minute finale combines ballet, street dance and softer Cuban beats to create a sultry, energetic and colourful end to the show.
Running at two hours including an interval, there may be limited thematic connection between the five dances in 100% Cuban but Acosta Danza is always a showcase of great talent and an unmissable night of dance.
Runs until 12 February 2022
The Reviews Hub Score
Talent showcase
