Be Captivated

• Kelly Apter
• 4 August 2013

This article is from 2013.

Young talent from Ballet Central on the rise

Ballet school may give you the foundation on which to build a career, but live performance gives you the tools of the trade. Which is exactly why Central School of Ballet sends its final year students out on the road, under the banner of Ballet Central.

From an audience point of view, it’s a chance to see emerging young talent, full to the brim with energy and enthusiasm. Be Captivated also gives both dancers and audience a chance to experience five very different choreographic styles.

Opening work Signature 30/31 was created by Northern Ballet dancer Kenneth Tindall and has a sharp, neo-classical feel. A great opportunity to show off flexibility and timing, the dancers attack it with style – but technique, rather than feeling, wins out here.

Christopher Gable’s Fireside Pas de Deux from Cinderella cranks the emotional quotient up a notch, with a touching display of young love that feels wholly believable. Unlike Stacey Haynes’ Love on top, which feels all wrong, through no fault of the choreographer. Haynes’ moves to Beyonce are sassy and strong – but these are ballet rather than commercial dancers, and just don’t have the swagger to carry it off.

Mapping #3 by Darshan Singh Bhuller features some playful video trickery that has the crowd in raptures. But it is Christopher Marney’s anon. that steals the show. A fun, light-hearted narrative ballet reminiscent of Matthew Bourne’s work, it gives the dancers a real chance to show off their characterisation.

Like any student company, the dancers of Ballet Central still have lessons to learn – in this instance, to feel as much as they’re thinking, and to know what’s right for them – but with anon. in particular, they already know how to entertain a crowd.

New Town Theatre, 220 0143, until 12 Aug, 8.05pm, £14 (£12).