A follow up to the critically acclaimed (but publically misunderstood) PUSH, debuted in 2008 starring Sylvie Guillem, Maliphant’s two : four : ten is like an extremely expensive quadrant box of chocolates.
First up, a delicate, beautifully crafted taster of Maliphant’s choreographical greatness. KNOT, danced by Royal Ballet pin-up Ivan Putrov and the exquisite Daniel Proietto is the perfect duet to introduce the mind to Maliphant’s gorgeous creations. The slow back rolls, syncopated plies and rolling arms are repeated throughout all four pieces, all with Maliphant’s signature blurred arm movements created by the shafts of faint yellow spotlights singling out parts of the dancer’s body. The use of light is the most noticable visual effect spread throughout all pieces - designed by Maliphant’s lifetime collaborator Michael Hulls.
Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks star in the second delight, Sheer. The dance progresses from the eye-candy black silhouettes on yellow-lit background, through tango-influenced power struggles through to a beautifully accompanied drawn out love dance. The couple seem to encompass the journey of love from start to finish, repeating motifs without becoming repetitive, leaning heavier and heavier on each other in the lifts and suspended rolls. Edur and Oaks need no explanation. They bring a quality of perfection to the choreography making you only wish more was done to show off their obvious ability. The movements aren’t daring enough but do give a glimpse into what they can achieve with rare in-sync steps. Overall the piece is divine, and more lengthly than the former, leaving a sumptuous linger in the mouth.
Two x two created especially for Dana Fouras, is an expansion on the original Two exhibited last year. The new duet retains the former energy and clean lines, set to a submarine-like bass beat which contrasts the previous adage.
The final piece, Critical Mass, promises to be the closing extravaganza featuring dancer and choreographer (you, like me, may remember him as the lead from Bourne’s all-male Swan Lake) Adam Cooper, and Maliphant himself. But the piece, disappointingly, does not live up to the sensual explosion it is supposed to be.
Although the choreography exhibits both timing and excellence clearly capable from someone of his experience and maturity, Maliphant still seems unable to learn the holy grail of choreographer’s lessons - know when to step away from your creation. Jean Abreu, new young choreographer explained at the latest production of Boulevard of Broken Dreams the difficulties of knowing when to be part of his own creations and when to take a step back. While Abreu’s work isn’t a patch on Maliphant, as a much younger, fresh, dancer his talents in this field are competative.
Maliphant is, of course, a beautiful dancer. But you cannot help but think the piece might have been more eye-catching if danced by a pair of younger, more able, dancers, like the first pair who caused a ripple of stunned awe in the first piece, KNOT.
Running for 35 minutes, the final piece is the longest of the four. It does not become tiresome, but the two on stage begin to tire themselves, and movements get increasingly and unintentionally heavy and messy. While the double-male dynamic is at first pleasing, and has become a staple in contemporary ballet - the ability for both partners to lift is still impressive. But, some choreographers seem to be forgetting the linear beauty of the soft female form, with its hourglass shapes and round lines against the sharp triangle shapes created by the male. The middle insert, set to a mildly comic scratchy tango piece, would have more impact in the traditional male/female set-up.
Overall Maliphant’s latest production does provide a rich choc-box glory of short, but perfectly executed dances suitable not only for distinguished palettes accustomed to rich flavours, but for those who have never experienced such delights before.
