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REVIEW: Phoenix Dance Theatre, Lowry

Lauren Steadman
7/12/2007

CARACAS-born choreographer Javier de Frutos must have some demons to exorcise.

Blood, gore and violence featured strongly in a provocative triple bill for Leeds dance company Phoenix that premiered at The Lowry last Thursday.

Whether wearing religious robes or underpants, the dancers didn’t shy away from bodily contact – but at times they seemed too wrapped up in each other to engage with the audience.

The first act, Paseillo, was a delightful, if bewildering, piece set to Mozart. Men in long, flowing tunics and women in Edwardian-style dresses moved in slow motion, as though underwater. It was very fluid and beautiful to watch.

People snogged and caressed and, every so often, women would break into comically frantic moves, as though possessed. Inexplicably, the otherwise neutral set was spraypainted with the slogan ‘Kilroy is here’.

The shocking second piece, Los Picadores, heralded a dramatic shift of tone. Dancers wearing fake blood and little else beat each other up, accompanied by the sombre tones of Stravinsky’s Les Noces (The Wedding). These were some nuptials – the kind with rough rival families where it kicks off as soon as the Stella starts flowing. Although the graphic violence made for uncomfortable viewing, the choreography was perfectly timed to the music – and later movements performed on the floor were quite startling.

The final act, Nopalitos, was the strangest by far. Themed around the Mexican Day of the Dead festival, it was centred on a marquee in which performers in skeleton costumes and what can only be described as gimp masks writhed.

There was toplessness, veils and togas made from the kind of multicoloured beach towels one sometimes acquires on holiday. The music – Mexican singer Lila Downs – reached ear-splitting levels.

Like a reluctant teenager dragged along on a friend's first date, it was hard not to feel detached from the action. Despite a promising start, the messy final act may need a polish if Phoenix is to win over new fans.