Review: CROW / Pigeons, Sadler’s Wells

This was my third visit to Sadler’s Wells East as part of the ongoing Dance Reflections festival by Van Cleef and Arpels, and to be honest with you I have seen such a huge variety of work in this festival I was not sure what to expect. This work by choreographer Jules Cunningham is actually two distinct pieces, separated this time by an interval to distinguish them. This compounds the variety and allows better insight into the work of Cunningham. 

What I loved from the moment I entered the building was the fact that this performance had been made accessible to neuro-diverse people with various initiatives. This included making stimming toys available and opening the auditorium early to allow people to learn about as well as touch and feel aspects of the production. In addition to this, CROW, which was the first half of the show, had what I now know is a soft start, that is to say the performance was already tentatively underway as you enter the auditorium up to fifteen minutes before it starts. As the time for the performance to start passed, house lights were gradually and almost imperceptibly dimmed, and stage lighting took over more prominently; the music became more focused, and the choreography intensified. Whilst I couldn’t possibly say how many people took advantage of these initiatives last night, increasing access to such high-quality art in this way is a really welcome move.

The first work unfolds to a nuanced mix of electronic music provided on stage by JD Samson. The work itself is expressed by Cunningham and one of their dancers, Harry Alexander. It’s a curious piece that took me a while to embrace. Taking close observation of crows as a starting point and drawing parallels with human behaviour is certainly an original premise. Eventually, the work becomes contemplative, almost meditative, until its flow changes as the music calms then ends, and all three performers draw close to the front of the stage, curiously observing their audience in silence. Slightly unnerving, it also makes for daring and exciting theatre. 

The whole company takes to the stage to perform a similar work entitled Pigeons. I say similar, but only in the sense that both of these works have an avian theme and are built around a loose choreographic plan that includes exquisitely observed and executed phrases, which are held together by an improvisational framework. This intensifies the drama and captivates its audience. I preferred Pigeons as a more typical ensemble piece for its more recognisable interactions and delicately poetic movements, which distinctly focused on movement in the lower body.  

Of particular note in Pigeons is the beautiful lighting, which starts blue-grey and cold, but migrates to a luscious warmth. Many individual focused spots overlap to create distinct feathered patterns, sensitively expanding and enclosing the space for the dancers. Also important to me as a musician is the stunning musical work Gay Guerilla, written for four pianos by Julius Eastman. I walked away very happy to be introduced to Eastman’s work, and determined to explore it further.

If you’re lucky enough to get to Sadler’s Wells East for the second and final performance of these works in this space, because of the improvisational nature of the pieces you will undoubtedly witness something different to this, but you will no doubt walk away in awe at the touching and sensitive creativity of Cunningham’s work.

Choreographed by: Jules Cunningham
Performed by: Harry Alexander, Nafisah Baba, Yu-Chien Cheng, Jules Cunningham, Matthias Sperling
CROW Sound score & live performance: JD Samson
Lighting Design by: Joshie Harriette
Projection by: Julie Verhoeven
Costumes by: Loe D’Arcy
Produced by: Kat Bridge

CROW / Pigeons plays at Sadler’s Wells East until Friday 28 March. Dance Reflections by Van Cleef and Arpels runs at various venues until 8 April.