Review: Landscapes, Sadler’s Wells East 

Landscapes is a suite of three solo dance works directed and choreographed by long-time Sadler’s Wells collaborator Russell Maliphant, distinct in origin yet combining to create a cohesive whole; they are linked in form, dynamics and their relationship with light. The performance freesheet is refreshingly free of thematic hype. Instead, we are simply left to experience the pieces subjectively and enjoy their artistic purity. 

The show opens with ‘Afterlight’, performed by Daniel Proietto. In this multi-movement piece set to Satie’s “Gnossiennes 1–4”, Proietto’s use of the space increases only very slowly over time, seeming to rotate in a brain-mangling illusion. As the performance intensifies, the amorphous clouds projected onto the floor over him slowly rotate and expand across the stage, echoing his movements of a series of extended arcs and circles, centred around a point. Ultimately the space opens up, but one never loses the sensation that the light is in some way in control of not only his space but also his movements. As the piece reaches its finale and the space contracts once again, the increasingly fragmented light fractures the outer reaches of his limbs, seemingly imprisoning him. His is a performance of expansive eloquence and grace which makes for a captivating opening. 

Alina Cojocaru follows, performing ‘Two’, a piece which originally premiered at Sadler’s Wells in 2009. Here the dancer’s relationship with space is yet more restrictive and more geometric, but no less compelling. The projected overhead light space is a simple square, and the lines and forms of the dancer reach into the perimeter of light to create a sense of her performing within a cube. Seemingly similarly imprisoned by the light, as the extension of her limbs breaks into the lighter perimeter of the space, illusory forms are created and quickly shattered. The effect is captivating and moving. 

By way of finale, Maliphant himself performs a new work entitled ‘In a Landscape’. Here, the dancer’s relationship with the space is again conducted through light, but here it is amplified through panels of sheer fabric that challenge us to identify the presence and role of Maliphant himself. Through a series of short episodes, he manipulates the movement of the fabric in the path of projected light so that his presence as a dancer is often illusory. The effect is poetic and intense. Despite being dance in its purest most abstract form, one cannot fail to engage with the resultant emotional storytelling. The finale in particular is a stunning exercise in the power of imagination, technique and the rigour of simplicity. 

The power of all these pieces lies in the fact that their core creative ideas are incredibly simple, but they have been explored, reworked and refined until every ounce of brilliance has been extracted from them. Together with lighting designers Panagiotis Tomaras and Michael Hulls, Maliphant creates an extended symphony here, knitting together three related concepts in a triumph of understated brilliance. 

I can see now why the publicity and programme struggle to articulate what this show delivers. As a marriage of movement, music and light it is an evening of compelling poetry and the fact that it’s hard to put its power into words is testament to its potency. Less is most definitely more.   

‘In a Landscape’ 
Lighting design by: Panagiotis Tomaras 
Music by: Dana Fouras 
Costume design by: Stevie Stewart 

‘Afterlight’ 
Lighting design by: Michael Hulls 
Video design by: Jan Urbanowski 
Costume design by: Stevie Stewart 

‘Two’ 
Lighting design by: Michael Hulls 
Music by: Andy Cowton 
Costume design by: Stevie Stewart

Landscapes plays at Sadler’s Wells East until Saturday 14 March.