BalletBoyz, Them/Us, Sadler's Wells Preview

BalletBoyz surely need no introduction, having acquired cult status in the decade since the original BalletBoyz, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, decided to turn their own, highly-successful partnership into a 10-men company. Now retired from dancing, Nunn and Trevitt are BalletBoyz Artist Directors.

BalletBoyz Them/Us is a new double bill. It will have its London premiere at Sadler’s Wells, which co-produced the work.

With an overall theme of ‘how we see ourselves in relation to the other’ Them/Us is made up of two pieces: Them, which has the distinction of being the first company work choreographed by the dancers themselves, and Us, by the internationally acclaimed choreographer and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist, Christopher Wheeldon.

Wheeldon first worked with BalletBoyz on their last show, Fourteen Days, for which he created the duet Us (pictured up top). Set to music by Keaton Henson, the eight-minute Us was an extraordinarily affecting work, an erotically charged plotless love story, anchored on the themes of trust and risk. It explored all the possibilities of a duet between two men, dealing simultaneous with strength and vulnerability.

Culture Whisper’s reviewer described it as ‘mesmerising’ and ‘emotionally devastating.’

Now Christopher Wheeldon is developing that short work into a full-length piece set to an extended score by Keaton Henson, and moving beyond the moment to explore the possibilities of before, during and after.

We can’t wait.

It’ll be interesting, too, to see what the company dancers come up with in their first foray into choreographing, Them, to a score by the emerging composer, Charlotte Harding.

BalletBoyz is a remarkably cohesive company: some of the dancers have been there since its inception, but every new addition soon blends into the whole.

This means all have a very clear understanding of what they are about, and although immensely versatile, having worked with a wide range of contemporary choreographers, they remain always BalletBoyz and that is the source of their unique appeal.

We’ll see how that translates into actually creating a work from scratch…