London
THEM/US
Ballet Boyz
4****
Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4TN to 9 March 2019.
Tues-Sat 7.30pm Mat Sat 2.30pm.
Runs 1hr 40 mins. One interval.
TICKETS: 020 7863 8000
www.sadlerswells.com

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Review: William Russell 6 March.
Enthralling new works
The first half of this new Ballet Boyz programme THEM is the result of collaboration between the dancers, the rehearsal director Charlotte Pook and artistic directors Michael Nunn and William Trevitt and is utterly enchanting. It is set to music by Charlotte Harding and the six dancers perform with a vast cube which they can lift, rotate and exploit. It is wonderfully fluid and exciting to watch. The second half US with choreography by Christopher Wheeldon is an expanded version of a duet premiered two years ago and now has six dancers . As the dance proceeds people leave the stage and vanish into darkness leaving the final two to perform the deeply romantic dance. The score by Keaton Henson is at first disturbing and gradually gets more lyrical. Them/Us provide the dancers with material which exploits all the things this company is good at and allows each dancer to project their own personality while combining into a perfect whole as they weave together and fall away only to combine again. As world premieres go this one was stunning.

Dancers
Sean Flanagan
Benjamin Knapper
Harry Price
Liam Riddick
Dominic Rocca
Matthew Sandiford
Bradley Waller
And Apprentice – Joey Barton.

Choreography for Us: Christopher Wheeldon.
Lighting Designer: Andrew Ellis.
Musical Arrangement Us: Ben Foskett.
Costume Designer: Katherine Watt.
Composer Us: Keaton Henson.
Composer Then: Charlotte Harding.
Production Photographs: George Piper.