…easy to follow any narrative; however, through the vocabulary of dance, Laplane creates her own emotional, chaotic dramatisation of Eroica to express the fragility, strength and heroic nature of the human spirit. First staged in 2020, The Waiting Game by Mthuthuzeli November, has been revised for this new production, the…
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…post-intermission The Waiting Game makes sense as a companion piece. Choreographed by Mthuthuzeli November, it’s a nervy, magical realist tale of survival in the 21st century. The piece’s hero, played by an arresting Ebony Thomas frets in his room, attended by a frenetic flock of worries, or maybe dreams. The…
…Beethoven-inspired pieces as well as more modern styles. The set, and the lighting, are simple, but the ensemble dancers sometimes hold mirrors, bathing each other in light, and providing an additional dynamic element to the piece. After the interval, the second piece: The Waiting Game, choreographed by Mthuthuzeli November. There…
…its mission, increasing the diversity to be found in a dance audience. Heroes brings a revisited piece, The Waiting Game, from South African company dancer Mthuthuzeli November who joined the company in 2015 and, as well as being a dancer, is building a growing reputation as a choreographer. It opens…
Jonathan Gray sees Ballet Black’s double bill – If At First and The Waiting Game – and was won over by the “exceptional dancers, vivid, full of personality and strong technique” Ballet Black: Heroes 26th May 2024 Reviewer: Jonathan Gray You’ve got to hand it to Ballet Black. Under the…
Ballet Black: Heroes 25th May 2024 Reviewer: Maggie Watson On Friday 12th April at Oxford Playhouse Ballet Black presented the world premiere of choreographer Sophie Laplane’s ballet If at First in a double bill alongside a reworking of Mthuthuzeli November’s The Waiting Game (2020), which I first saw at the…
…First sets out to pay homage to the quiet heroism,” Laplane said. The second piece: The Waiting Game was choreographed by Mthuthzeli November, with light design by David Plater once again. This piece, starring Ebony Thomas as the main dancer, explores dealing with the different challenges in life and the…
Ballet Black: Heroes 21st May 2024 Reviewer: Maggie Foyer Ballet Black’s double bill, Heroes, features a premiere from Sophie Laplane and a revised version of The Waiting Game from Mthuthuzeli November. The company with nearly half newly appointed members has nonetheless managed to shape up into a similarly enthusiastic and…
…eyes and the grief Kotiya creates with his body surrounding hers as he attempts to hold her, carrying her and moving her to no avail, is heartbreaking. Following the interval, November’s The Waiting Game returns with a new score (Alex Wilson). Exploring the mundane nature of everyday life and questioning…
…not only energise ballet but also build lasting connections with this much-sought-after new audience. Ballet Black’s new double bill features the world premiere of Sophie Laplane’s If At First and a return of Mthuthuzeli November The Waiting Game, which originally premiered by the company in 2020. There is a tight…
…the solo section for the eye-catching Brazilian newcomer Acaoã de Castro, danced to a snatch of Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ symphony . Mthuthuzeli November’s 2021 piece The Waiting Game was a near perfect absurdist piece, short, tightly-knit and punchy. Now, heedless of the useful advice ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’,…
…fast-paced movement. The Waiting Game, by Mthuthuzeli November, was created in 2020 and its first iteration was performed in 2021. It’s now been heavily reworked, and not always improved. Ebony Thomas is a man in the throes of an existential crisis. A voice-over gives us his anguished thoughts and a…
…Indian-born Love Kotiya, incisive and unpredictable. The pieces in Heroes aren’t the most audacious in Ballet Black’s repertoire – but these dancers are unceasingly eye-catching. Punchier is a reworked version of Mthuthuzeli November’s The Waiting Game from 2020. Last time it ended with an ecstatic communal groove to Etta James…
…de Castro and Bhungane Mehlomakulu) the piece lacks much-needed focus and cohesiveness. Luckily from the hubbub and confusion of If At First the second act and Mthuthuzeli November’s piece The Waiting Game is crystal clear. Created and then somewhat lost amidst the great hand wash of 2020, it has been…
…didn’t necessarily mean blancmange pink. Ballet Black has brought a new programme to the Barbican, with two contrasting pieces: If At First, with choreography by Sophie Laplane and lighting design by David Plater, and The Waiting Game with choreography by Mthuthzeli November. The lighting for this is again designed by…
…longueurs here. All up, Laplane and her team have delivered a mini-masterpiece, that will bear repeated seeing and satisfies as both a dramatic work and also just as movement shorn of its deeper meaning – Mthuthuzeli November’s The Waiting Game has had its own wait since a version was first…
…cast for this piece as five out of the nine dancers joined Ballet Black in the past year, so they bring a speedy joy and freshness to the choreography, which is only exciting to watch as they blaze across the stage. The second half brings The Waiting Game by Mthuthuzeli…
Ballet Black: Heroes 15th May 2024 Reviewer: Stuart Sweeney Ballet Black is 22 years old, and the achievements of the company have been rewarded with Arts Council of England National Portfolio Organisation status, providing four year funding and greater stability. I always look forward to Ballet Black’s new programmes and…
…the performance, while further emphasising how this company doesn’t place limitations on what a Ballet can be. Having said this, I came to the interval with the notion that such a fresh and inventive company was surely still holding something back. Yet, in the second piece, ‘The Waiting Game’, all…
…never fails to amaze me how clearly a story can be told through movement, when no words are said. It was beautiful. The Waiting Game The second piece, The Waiting Game felt like a fresh take on the type of performance you’d expect to see in ballet. As someone with…