JV2 Program Premiere – Lilian Bayliss Studio

Dancers from the JV2 Professional Development Diploma program presented a dance ensemble of choreographies led and devised by Vinicius Salles for the piece ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and André Rebelo for the piece ‘Mystique’, two associates of the Jasmin Vardiman Company, together with the dancer’s creative input throughout the processes. For several years, the JV2 Professional Development Program led young artists to develop multi-disciplinary skills alongside a rigorous training in technique to train artists and go forward with their careers.

‘It’s Not Unusual’ commences with the dancers entering the space, occupying it one by one with an interesting exposition of masculinity performed by a cast predominantly assigned females. One could easily pinpoint the masculinity investigated; the toxic one. That is not for granted. The work is inspired by Tom Jones’ music, one that depicts specific gendered roles embedded in a misogynistic society. For 23 minutes, we witnessed a work of young artists who poured their efforts and talents into movement; one that investigates physical approaches towards masculinity. One could interpret the light as a line of boundaries or the line of normativity. The dancer’s performance re-evaluated the power dynamics existing between the songs played in the backgrounds, their identities and their movements. Throughout the piece, I was wondering about the embodiment process to perform masculinity, and how is it that the dancers choose to define it. The piece presented after the short intermission was ‘Mystique’. ‘Mystique’ channelled witchy energies emanating from the dancers in the quality of the movements, the lights and the play with darkness. The work explored the feeling of lucidity. The 26 minutes piece showcased group work, duos and solos. Sometimes the usage of the light masked the movements especially that dancers were in black and the theatre’s stage is black.

At the end of the show, we had the chance to have a talk with the dancers and the choreographers about their experience throughout the program and their motivations.

Reviewer: Marita Matar

Reviewed: 6th April 2023

North West End UK Rating: ★★★