UNITED WE DANCE
Essex
Dance Theatre Brentwood at Brentwood Theatre
11.07.14
An
amazingly varied programme of dance from this unique dance
project.
The
three performing groups, plus
specialist off-shoots,
changed styles and costumes with seamless ease, producing a showcase
that was hugely enjoyable to watch. Twenty-three numbers all told, so
we can only select a handful.
A
lively, witty Mamma Mia, danced in colourful costumes. A
charmingly old-fashioned I Could Have Danced All Night.
An
excellent tap duo to “Cups”, perversely, since the number is
already so percussive.
Some
choreography winners, including Alice Andrews with a beautifully
expressive piece, especially in
the
use of the hands, and in
first place,
Francesca
Gomez with an
extended
piece to Radioactive.
A
wonderfully cute tap-dancing Tiptoe Through The Tulips, with luminous
blooms.
Particularly
imaginative choreography to When She Loved Me from Toy Story,
beginning as marionettes and ending in an evocative spiral effect
which was quite magical.
A
stageful of little sweeps, a well-drilled, thunderous Irish number,
and a Cats finale which involved the whole company in feline
teeshirts.
The
costumes throughout were simple but striking – black tutus,
gingham, patterned prints for The Two Tribes.
The
dances were devised by Jane Ben-Aderet, Jessica Bradshaw, Kim
Bradshaw, Nicole Carman, Helen Cridland and Rhiannon Munson-Hobbs.
Archive
photograph by Clare Rowden
