Sweet moments from ballet’s superstar couple
Natalia Osipova emerges from the sinewy arms of two male dancers. Their three silhouettes, against an enormous glowing yellow sphere, are partially blocked by a smaller, darker sphere. Electronica morphs into Sufi folk music and back again, a mix of rich vocal tones and tribal drumming. The dancers – Osipova, Jason Kittelberger and James O’Hara – move as though they’re emerging from an apocalypse; three newborns, discovering what their limbs can do.
It was a shrewd decision on Osipova’s part to programme this piece first. Entitled Qutb (an Arabic word for pivot or axis), it is the work of Belgian-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and it began this triple bill, specially commissioned to mark Osipova’s leap from classical dancer to contemporary programmer.
It’s relatively uncharted territory for the Russian-born dancer. Audiences are accustomed to seeing her swoon over princes; here, she skulked across the stage to the throb of electronica.
Osipova’s transition is mirrored beautifully in Cherkaoui’s choreography. With raw, almost uncomfortable physicality, the trio navigate their new, treacherous surroundings and fragility gives way to strength.
Consummate storytellers, Cherkaoui and Osipova are well suited; his theatrical style gives her plenty of material to work with and her flawless
control gives his movements a heightened feel. It’s a powerful piece.
The second bill introduces a new player. Sergei Polunin, a Ukrainian dancer who made headlines when he quit the Royal Ballet at 22, is undoubtedly one of the finest male dancers working today. He’s also Osipova’s real-life partner – and the pair have made it clear that they plan to spend the rest of their life creating art together.
Silent Echo, by British choreographer Russell Maliphant, marks the couple’s contemporary debut, though the movement is underpinned by a strong classical foundation. It’s a dizzying whirling dervish of a piece with a short pas de
deux and two grandiose solos (those in it to see Polunin jump won’t be disappointed). When the pair touch on stage for the first time the music crackles, as if in anticipation, but their dancing together is, in the end, The LSO plays Mahler 3 at the Proms under Bernard Haitink on July 29. bbc.co.uk/proms disappointing. Where is the heat, the passion? Yes, the bar is set high but this is what audiences have paid to see.
The final third catapults us into the Sixties, as Osipova and Polunin portray a couple falling in and out of love – with each other; with drugs and alcohol; ultimately, with themselves.
Run, Mary, Run is by Arthur Pita, who took inspiration from Amy Winehouse’s tumultuous life and her album Back to Black. Rattling, rockabilly numbers from the Shangri-Las provide the soundtrack as the pair take us on a road movie of a doomed relationship.
In her red beehive wig and green shift dress, Osipova is a joy to watch as she transitions from guileless, gawky teen to adult and back again. There are sporadic sparks of chemistry and some sweet moments – Polunin kissing the length of Osipova’s body as she bops around him; a swing scene that epitomises teenage love – but it never quite hits the mark.
Pita’s choreography is energetic and elicits a few laughs but there’s a sense of wasted talent. Let’s hope that Osipova and Polunin are slow burners, and that the best is yet to come. Until July 3, then Sep 27-Oct 1. 020 7863 8000, sadlerswells.com. Also at Edinburgh Festival Theatre Aug 12-14
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