I have immense admiration for people who have a vision and the commitment to follow it through to fruition. Such is the case of Andrew McNicol, who wanted to shake up the UK ballet scene by ‘incorporating diverse artistic perspectives and global innovations, promoting Ballet’s enduring vitality, power and relevance.’ I have no doubt that he could have found work in almost any established company, having won the Kenneth MacMillan Choreographic Competition while at The Royal Ballet School, but he decided to plough his own furrow by creating McNicol Ballet Collective.
He took inspiration from New York, where he saw artists create their own companies to present new work and brought the idea to, where else, Huddersfield! It was supposed to start its journey in 2018 but fell victim to the pandemic, so it was 2020 before they could perform their maiden work, Awakenings. Five years on and a retrospective and premiere of a new work, were brought together in Here and Now, at the home of Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre, an appropriate choice of venue as they presented a combination of those organisations’ styles. There was also a short film chronicling the company’s inner workings.
The first half comprised excerpts from three established pieces choreographed by Andrew McNicol. The costumes were all designed by Louise Flanagan and the Lighting and Space Design – there was no set as such – was by Yaron Abulafia. The dances are based on the music involved, which is written especially for the company.
The first piece was called Bates Beats Excerpts which was danced to the music of Mason Bates – figures – combining modern beats, again the clue is in the title, of electronica and orchestral elements. The dance was based on, what even I realised, conventional ballet movements with the addition of a bit of freestyle.
Bates Beats Excerpts
If you have read my other articles, you will know that I tend to watch anything with which I am not very familiar, without reading the programme first. This is so that I am not influenced by others’ interpretations. When I looked at the synopsis to this work at the interval, I was miles off. The first impression I got, was from the costumes, seemingly decorated with images of the planets, a feeling reinforced by the tutus which resembled the rings of Saturn and Jupiter. I took the relative positions and interplay of the dancers to be in line with those of the celestial bodies. As I looked closer, I believe that the images on the clothing were of flowers, so that blew my theory right out of the sky. It didn’t matter though, as the work itself was mesmerising with the bodies, terrestrial rather than celestial, of the dancers, forming the most incredible movements and interaction. It was supposed to be a playful way of interpreting ballet, so I don’t feel too stupid – for once!
The second item on the programme was Moonbend Excerpts, danced to the music of Perfume Genius and, utilising the skills of Dramaturg, Francesca Tennant. The soundtrack incorporated the human voice, as well as the melodic element. It was split into two parts, Your Body Changes Everything, and Nothing At All.
Moonbend Excerpts
I got this one right as it was a very erotic piece, both homo- and hetero-. The words describe the feelings of the participants in the dances just as poetically and intimately as the dance itself. This time the costumes were unambiguous.
The first half ended with Of Silence Excerpts. The music, The Fruits of Silence, was composed by Pēteris Vasks, and is a choral setting of a prayer by Mother Teresa. It was contemplative and very graceful summing up the prayer beautifully, although I didn’t realise that until I read the programme immediately after. ‘The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace.’
Of Silence Excerpt
The music was a mixture of recorded modern sounds and a live performance from a string quartet and a choir. Beautiful. The mood was enhanced by a projection onto a screen at the back of the stage, which had a red light casting a stripe across a black background similar to a Rothko painting, with white clouds below.
After the interval the same screen displayed a film by Nauris Buksevics, depicting life behind-the-scenes at McNicol Collective. The soundtrack was written by Theo Lees, Liana Aram, Alberta Lauridsen and Sam Moss, all of Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
The final offering was a premiere of Liquid Life, a spectacular piece, again Choreographed by Andrew McNicol, representing interpersonal relationships. There could be no mistake here, as the whole plot was superbly set out. The music was by Jeremy Birchall, and the Dramaturg, Lou Cope.
Liquid Life
The lighting for all of the pieces utilised dramatic spotlights on a dark stage, well, that is the excuse for my misinterpretation of the costume design in the first one, but here the light, cast from above, formed rectangles representing paths. Some ran parallel, showing the separate ways in which we lead our lives, and then changed to criss cross enabling interaction. Meanwhile two dancers were depicting a relationship in which they met, interacted and then split up. One move, a spin, with the male dancer holding up the female, was incredible. Far from being a sad ending, it was optimistic in that the two lovers seamlessly returned to the mainstream population.
Once again, I was supremely impressed by the whole evening, yes, there was the odd occasion when the dancers were not in perfect synchronisation, but the overall effect was stunning. It was also highly accessible and I am only sorry that this was the last stop on a tour which has taken in Hull, Mr McNicol’s home city, and London, before ending in Leeds, as I would have loved to have urged you to go and see it.
The dancers were Gabriel Arango, Winnie Dias, Laura Flugel, Theo Greenfield, Hamish Longley, Giulia Neri, Casey Nokomis Pereira and James Stephens. The Musicians: Dominic Moore, Nicholas Holland, Brian Wright and Emil Chakalov.
I would advise you to have a look at their website, a work of art in itself, for more details of the company, and the odd short video. https://www.mcnicolballetcollective.co.uk/
Here is an excerpt from Of Silence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU9Jei_PBT0
For a taste of the music from Liquid Life, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fAtp669OFk
For more information on events at The Stanley and Audrey Theatre, please click on https://northernballet.com/theatre
All photographs by ASH
Tyke It To The Limit 