A small taste of two giants (Live at Lunch, Royal Opera House, 8th of October 2021)

Last Friday we had a chance to see two ballet excerpts performed by the Yorke Dance Project company. The first piece being Kenneth MacMillan's "Sea of Troubles" and the second one the recently choreographed "Afternoon Conversations with Dancers" by Sir Robert Cohan (with the co-operation with Yolanda Yorke-Edgell, artistic director of the Yorke Dance Project).

Both giants of choreography are well-know for focusing on the psychological inside of characters, expressing the true emotions and on underlying the dancers' individualities. These qualities were very evident in both pieces.

The first excerpt (from the piece inspired by Shakespear's Hamlet) focused on troubled relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. Very fragmented, yet emotional excerpt was accompanied by music of B. Martinu, which intensified the characters' feelings and thoughts. The dancers were coached by Susan Crow, who was in the original cast, worked with Kenneth MacMillan and who remembers the intentions that he had with this choreography.

The second piece, beautifully performed by Freya Jeffs, was an excerpt from one of the solos that the "Afternoon Conversations with Dancers" consist of. The piece, which will have its premiere in Royal Opera House in November (performance called Past Present, from the12th-14th in Linbury theatre) was choreographed during the lockdown and - as its title says - was literally based on conversations between Sir Robert Cohan and dancers, who interpreted what he indicated in their homes or apartments. Because of the limited space that the dancers had, the intentions of this choreography is even more focused on the quality of movement and the "internal" motivation of movement. Although confinded in small apartments, the dancers are searching for more space, the possibility to express themselves within the space they are in and the freedom of movement.