‘Ballet Black breathe exciting new life into a classical art form, smashing through multiple glass ceilings while retaining faultless beauty’
Ballet Black: Heroes
14th April 2024
Reviewer: Ella Thornburn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Before the show began, the Oxford Playhouse was perhaps the busiest I’ve ever seen it, alive with anticipation. The audience spanned from toddlers to elderly couples, and I was pleased to see that the company’s aim of ‘bringing high quality ballet to new and diverse audiences’ had absolutely been achieved.
The evening was split into a hugely complementary double bill, the first of which,‘ If At First’ wove solos and breathtaking company choreography seamlessly together in an intimate and sensitive performance. A striking tableau of Isabela Coracy spotlit beneath a large crown prop and surrounded by the company opened the piece, introducing themes of heroism and the pursuit of fame. Throughout, this crown appears, seemingly out of thin air, in various performers’ possession, and we watch as they claim its power or crumble under its weight.
Choreographer Sophie Laplane frequently alters the pace, treating us to exquisite duet or solo pieces from all nine ballerinas who emerge unexpectedly from the bustling group, asking us to consider the unseen heroes of the everyday, rather than associating power only with those who wear the crown. Accompanied by a varied and eclectic score, the performance was consistently engaging and highly emotive. Laplane’s vision of ‘a quieter heroism’ honouring ‘kindness, community and mutual support’ was certainly realised, however I also enjoyed how ballet’s abstract art form encouraged unique audience interpretation.
Towards the end of this piece, I was particularly moved by the duet between Taraja Hudson and Helga Paris Morales, who danced to Michelle Gurevich’s sensual and defiant song ‘I’ll be your woman’. This stunning representation of women loving women added considerate nuance to 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 my hopes were absolutely surpassed. While ‘If At First’ asked us to appreciate the raw ballet form, this piece was bursting with interesting combinations of ballet, jazz, contemporary dance, poetic voiceover and an entirely self-composed score, demonstrating the many talents of the company and choreographer Mthuthuzeli November. The previously bare stage was enhanced by a large frame covered by opaque gauze, providing opportunity to depict beautifully contorted and haunting silhouettes. Ebony Thomas featured as a business-like man, tortured by the seemingly predestined monotony of the everyday. However, he attempted to break this cycle, eventually shedding his corporate suit and joining the surrounding company’s vibrant and expressive dance. Dancing to their own music and words injected increased passion and urgency as ideas around free will, passage of time and the question of how far life is simply a performance were introduced.
November maximised on the inherent metatheatrics of these themes at the performance’s end through depicting the ballerinas preparing to go on stage, bedecked in spectacular sequinned jackets. A voiceover discussed doubt and futility versus joy and faith, accompanied by a stunning duet from Ebony Thomas and Taraja Hudson, which crescendoed into determined action as the imagined curtain rose and the fourth wall was completely broken. We were left with the sentiment that we must present a true version of ourselves proudly, no matter the reception we receive, and that ‘there will be people who love you… people who need you’ artfully mirroring the company’s ethos. ‘The Waiting Game’’s complex themes are highly thought provoking- needless to say I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
I can safely say that Ballet Black has utterly changed my preconception that ballet’s are ‘a little boring’- I would see one again in a heartbeat. Although, I do wonder if other companies will manage to match the new heights to which this diverse and creative company has raised the bar.