✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Dance

40 Years of Phoenix review ★★★★★

29 Mar 22 – 30 Mar 22, 19:30 Dur.: 1 hour 30 mins approx

Phoenix Dance Theatre celebrates a landmark anniversary with 40 Years of Phoenix, a lively programme of repertoire highlights at the Peacock Theatre

By Teresa Guerreiro on 30/3/2022

Harmonica Breakdown, Phoenix Dance Theatre. Photo: Foteini Christofilopoulou
Harmonica Breakdown, Phoenix Dance Theatre. Photo: Foteini Christofilopoulou
40 Years of Phoenix review 3 40 Years of Phoenix review Teresa Guerreiro
40 Years of Phoenix is a bit of a ragbag, and like all ragbags it has good and not so good. The programme comprises five pieces designed to illustrate the company's legacy and life, from humble beginnings in 1981 through four decades and eight artistic directors to its current status as a small but highly respected multicultural ensemble.


Two pieces stood out: Harmonica Breakdown (pictured top) and the whimsical Pave Up Paradise.


Harmonica Breakdown, a 1938 defiant solo by the American choreographer Jane Dudley, was danced by the superlative Yuma Sylla, who cogently conveyed its commentary on the role of women in society in the 1920s and 30s, and in particular the African-American experience.


We first saw her bent forward, in a pose that seemed to indicate a much-put-upon woman. Yet, when she started to dance she was like a spring suddenly uncoiled, energy coursing through her every jagged movement, every jump: arms seeming to come unchained, she paced the stage as if to conquer forbidden territory.


Harmonica Breakdown was a breathtaking three minutes, of its time, yet speaking directly to the 21st century.


In contrast, Pave Up Paradise is a whimsical, humorous piece by Ben Duke and Raquel Meseguer, which in typical fashion reinterprets the story of Adam and Eve and the original sin.


With guitarist Andrew Burke on stage, Shawn Willis and Yuma Sylla are Adam and Eve, bringing us the universal story of man meets woman through the use of text and movement. The text, telling how Adam ignores all God’s injunctions once he sees Eve, is repeated between duets of very physical dance; the final twist on the words hitting home like the sharpest of arrows as the pair stand side by side and face us.


The first piece in the programme, Henri Oguike’s Signal, is danced predominantly to the heavy thrum of Japanese taiko drumming.



Phoenix Dance Theatre, Signal. Photo: Foteini Christofilopoulou
With the stage bathed in red, and five dancers performing syncopated movements, with long extensions and powerful jumps, it is interesting at first, but the longer it goes on the weaker is its impact.


Family, a fast-moving, comical piece looking at family dynamics from the divergent points of view of male and female choreographers – Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith – is vaguely amusing, but doesn't bring much by way of choreographic invention or variety.


The final piece is the strongest. Entitled Heart of Chaos and repurposed from its 1990s original by the choreographer, Dashan Singh Bhuller, it is based on the African-American boxer Jack Johnson, known as the ‘Galveston Giant’, who became heavyweight champion of the world in 1908.



Heart of Chaos, Phoenix Dance Theatre. Photo: © dancephotographeruk
Set within two sides of a boxing ring, this is an impressionistic take on episodes of Johnson’s life, with Aaron Chaplin impressive as the boxer who defied all social norms, including marrying three white women at a time of segregation. Set to a jazz score, it portrays fights in both realistic and stylised manners, as well as concentrating on Johnson's tempestuous relationship with one particular woman.


40 Years of Phoenix is the result of current artistic director, Dane Hurst's trawl through the company's archives. But in a programme note, he promises 'amazing new work' in years to come. We look forward to that.


by Teresa Guerreiro

What 40 Years of Phoenix review
Where Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street, London, WC2A 2HT | MAP
Nearest tube Holborn (underground)
When 29 Mar 22 – 30 Mar 22, 19:30 Dur.: 1 hour 30 mins approx
Price £12-£40
Website Click here to book



Most popular

Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton season 2, Netflix (Photo: Netflix)
Bridgerton, season 3, Netflix: everything we know
London's loveliest indoor swimming pools
London swimming pools you can visit without membership
London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London (Photograph: Peter Lewicki)
London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London, 2022
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

We recommend nearby

  • Mamie's

    Make everyday pancake day. Serving exquisite savoury and sweet crêpes, from childhood favourites like lemon and sugar to more sophisticated combinations, Mamie's may well be the home of the best pancakes and galettes in London.

    Read more...
    Book Map
  • The Delaunay

    The Delaunay is an elegant dining room in the tradition of grand Viennese cafés, but for a quick bite you might want to pop into its informal café, The Counter. Either way, you are sure to be tempted by the offerings on display on the Delaunay's roaming cake stand.

    Book Map
  • Jidori, Covent Garden

    Jidori is London’s major yakitori restaurant, a popular type of eatery in Japan where the menu consists of one main dish: chicken skewers. Here you can sample a wide range of these Japanese-style kebabs and more to get a flavour of authentic Japanese street food. The tsukune minced chicken skewer and katsu curry scotch egg are particular favourites of ours.

    Read more...

    There are now two Jidori spots in London, one in Covent Garden and one in Dalston - stay up-to-date with our London restaurant guide!

    Book Map

Phoenix Dance Theatre

Peacock Theatre

40 Years of Phoenix Dance Theatre

Sadler's Wells

Dane Hurst

Harmonica Breakdown

Jane Dudley

Heart of Chaos

Darshan Singh Bhuller

Signal

Yuman Sylla

Shawn Willis

Aaron Chaplin

You might like

  • Ballet Black, the company in Gregory Maqoma's Black Sun.  Photo: Bill cooper

    Ballet Black at 20 review ★★★★★

  • Ivan Michael Blackstock, TRAPLORD.  Photo: Glodi Miessi

    TRAPLORD, Ivan Michael Blackstock review ★★★★★

  • Johannes Radebe, Freedom

    Johannes Radebe, Freedom review ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×