Review: Age of Content, Sadler’s Wells East

Age of Content by (LA)HORDE in collaboration with the Ballet National de Marseille, as part of the Dance Reflections Festival by Van Cleef and Arpels, is a compelling but sometimes perplexing exploration of our digital age. The performance brings together intellectual concepts, contemporary dance and the aesthetics of the internet (or rather, computers) but despite its innovation and accessibility, left me questioning its purpose.  

The performance is split into four distinct movements, each reflecting different facets of digital life: dystopian violence, gaming, dating and sexuality, and viral dance memes. On a conceptual level, the ideas behind the work are captivating. The choreography is sharp and intense, with (LA)HORDE drawing from the internet’s ubiquitous presence to shape their movements: for example the limiting nightmarish quality of the avatars in games such as Grand Theft Auto is reflected accurately in the second movement. It’s undeniably a great idea, but I was left with the feeling that the sustained mimicry of these intense, macro-level movements restricted the potential range of expression.

The most notable strengths of Age of Content lie in its intellectual underpinnings and its striking visual elements. The stage design is bold and brutal, featuring big open spaces, boxed in fluorescent lighting, perspex and cardboard boxes.  The show is starkly simple and features some daring and shocking moments, including what appears to be a dancer being dropped from a great height.  In the first scene, the hooded dancers cavort around and over a transparent full-size remote-controlled car which then bucks against them like a raging bull, its hydraulics hissing menacingly like a scalded cat as it seems to try to shrug them off.  These moments of daring provide great shock and awe but perhaps distract a little from the choreography itself, by taming and neutering it.  

More effective is the second half of the show.  In the third movement, twerking is used to express the overt sexuality we seem to take for granted now on the internet.  Here the dancers excel, taking the idea and developing it with extended fluidity, joining and parting in waves which ebb and flow as they change partners and positions.  The finale is set to an intense slab of Philip Glass’ trademark minimalism and weaves motifs of viral TikTok dance trends into an intense whole-company frenzy which deservedly had the audience on its feet when it closed with a huge crescendo. This strong contrast with the sombre and disturbing opening provides the show’s strongest message. 

That said, generally the repetition of certain ideas and themes feels stretched a little thin over the course of the piece.  The programme notes promise so much, stating that the show “pursues the entanglement of real and virtual lives” but whilst I witnessed the concepts they wanted to focus on represented clearly and cleverly, I struggled to see how they portrayed the aforementioned entanglement and, moreover, what they wanted to try say about it.  Nevertheless, this is a problem with looking for something in the performance that the programme notes try to set up. Taken at face value, the work in its entirety is intriguing, thought-provoking and exceptionally well executed, and that’s how it can best be viewed and enjoyed.  

Concept, staging & choreography by: (LA)HORDE, Ballet National de Marseille, Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, Arthur Harel
Music by: Pierre Aviat, Gabber Eleganza, Philip Glass
Co-presented by: Sadler’s Wells and Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels

Age of Content plays at Sadler’s Wells East until Sunday 16th March.

Dance Reflections Festival by Van Cleef & Arpels continues at various venues until 8th April.