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Theatre, Dance and Comedy

You are in: Manchester > Entertainment > Arts, Film and Culture > Theatre, Dance and Comedy > Henri Oguike Dance Company at the Lowry

Green in Blue (c) Hugo Glendinning

Green in Blue (c) Hugo Glendinning

Henri Oguike Dance Company at the Lowry

Dancers are known for clambering over each other to defy gravity in leaps and bounds, so to see them sprawling, falling and dropping into an intimate connection with the ground was just as new to some of the troupe as it was to the audience.

The Nigerian-Welsh choreographer Henri Oguike has been described as Britain’s most innovative talent ever since he established his company in 1999 and his ingenious movement style is still poking and prodding his dancers and audiences in unexpected ways. He gave modern dance the shake-up it needed and a licence to play.

Let’s face it, sometimes bodies just look funny. The way they can flail and shake about. It reminds us our bodies are instruments that aren’t always under complete control. Nor are the dancers merely stylised puppets of Oguike - there is a collaborative approach bringing out the individuality of the dancers who have joined his company from around the world.

Little Red (c) Hugo Glendinning

Little Red (c) Hugo Glendinning

But it was the relationship between music and movement that resonated most. From Vivaldi’s violin concerti to hypnotic tribal tones to a special treat of live moody jazz, the entire bill lit up the intimate connection between music and movement, prompting a question from the audience later: “Which comes first, the music or the dance?â€

Well, that depends on the repertoire. The explosive, velvety Little Red was inspired first by the music, but in the intimate and pared down In Touching All & All Around, it was the movement - but also simply the breath. There were moments you could only hear the dancers’ exhalation and their limbs working the stage floor.

Finally, in Green in Blue, the live musicians and dancers share the stage creating a potent new energy or a magical power.

Which is exactly what it was – along with the perfect conclusion to a highly-charged foray into modern dance.

last updated: 07/02/2008 at 14:34
created: 07/02/2008

You are in: Manchester > Entertainment > Arts, Film and Culture > Theatre, Dance and Comedy > Henri Oguike Dance Company at the Lowry

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