Robert Tanitch reviews Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Luna at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London.

Robert Tanitch reviews Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Luna at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London.

Five international female choreographers, working in different locations and different languages, produce six separate abstract pieces, each lasting about fifteen minutes, to celebrate women and Birmingham women in particular. The music is written and curated by Kate Whitley. Luna is more of a showcase for choreographers and dancers than a ballet in two acts.

TERRA by Wubske Kuindersma depicts cycles of the moon and changes of the tides. For her the moon symbolises a force of creation. The dancers are celestial beings dressed in watery grey. A very large chorus of children sing “I am the Sea. I am the moon. I am the sky.” The message is that we are all connected.

LEARNING TO DREAM BIG by Serta Patel is about the importance of education and declares that when you educate a girl you educate a nation. Five young girls, all very girly, dream about what they will do when they grow up

UNWAVERING by Thais Suarez, to music by Gabriel Fauré, is about transforming adversity into inspiration and inviting the audience to never give up and fight with all their might for their goals and dreams. The dancers are Beatrice Parma and Javier Rojas.

EMPOWERMENT by Arielle Smith has eight women led by Rosanna Ely and a children’s song which pleads for us to fight for our planet and for humanity.

OVEREXPOSED is by Iraxte Ansa, who sees the moon acting a metaphor for womankind. Beatrice Parma in a red dress is seen being controlled by a range of faceless external forces until finally she is released through rebirth, renewal and hope. The male heads are bandaged like Claude Rains was in James Whale’s The Invisible Man. The bodies in white clothes look at times like chunks of rocky sculpture.

LUNA is by Wubske Kuindersma and she describes she moon as a place of unworldly reality, of hope and dreams. Children carry lighted globes. The whole company come together in a lively finish.

In the printed programme there is an extraordinary statement: “Luna is a celebration of womanhood and as such covers both joys and challenges. These challenges may elicit strong emotions and if any part makes you feel uncomfortable you are welcome to step out of the auditorium.”

I can’t imagine anybody feeling uncomfortable. But I can imagine a lot of people wondering what is going on choreographically and also wondering how all six scenes cohere into one ballet.

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