Declarations

Liverpool Playhouse

September 15 – September 16 (Then touring until December 2)

Artistic Director: Sharon Watson
Producer: Phoenix Dance Theatre
Choreography:  Warren Adams, Isira Makuloluwe, Philip Taylor, Aletta Collins
Dancers: Phil Sanger, Chihiro Kawasaki, Josh Wille, Paul Liburd, Azzurra Ardovini, Amanda Lewis, Ryu Suzuki

Running Time: 1 hr 30 mins

That a dozen girls outside during the interval were trying desperately hard to replicate what they had already seen speaks volumes and the Phoenix Dance Theatre’s Declarations is not so much a four course meal but is, instead, something of a five star banquet.

With The Audacious One, Warren Adams has created a frenetic, energetic and quite outstanding dance that is both intimate and powerful. With Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D Minor an inspired choice, guest dancer Paul Liburd takes the lead and drives the performances from the front with a vitality that is a joy to behold.

Isira Makuloluwe’s Locked In Vertical is far more sinister, with a pulsating electro- bass beat written by Francois Caffenne that is akin to early Peter Gabriel meeting the Ibiza club maestros of the eighties.  An exquisite demonstration in control, Josh Wille takes centre stage through this premiere piece with a fluidity that thrives on its own energy.

Haunted Passages, last performed fifteen years ago, has lost none of its sense of the macabre as the three dancers delightfully mirror the staccato music of Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae and disturbing lighting arrangement of Michael Mannion, with Azzurra Ardovini stealing the piece with her intense vigour.

Finally the dessert of Maybe Yes Maybe, Maybe No Maybe is something lighter but nonetheless satisfying as five dancers headed by the superb Phil Sanger and Chihiro Kawasaki, take Aletta Collins’ idea of placing a live microphone at the dance’s heart and make it their own in a witty but nevertheless unique manner that is quite mesmerising.
Artistic Director Sharon Watson has likened her debut production, Declarations, to something of a four course meal and, on this showing, each course is as sumptuous as the last and leaves the audience demanding more.

Chris High

For more information:   http://www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk

Saturday 9th October
Brunton Theatre Musselburgh, 7.30pm
Tickets: £10.50, £8.50, £6 under 18s
Box office: 0131 665 2240
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Thursday 28th October
York Theatre Royal, 7.30pm
Tickets: £10 - £17 (plus concessions)
Box office: 01904 623568
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Friday 29th October
York Theatre Royal, 7.30pm
Tickets: £10 - £17 (plus concessions)
Box office: 01904 623568
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Tuesday 2nd November
Hull Truck Theatre, 8.00pm
Tickets: £12, £10 concessions, Groups (10+) £8
Box office: 01482 323 638
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Tuesday 30th November
The Junction Cambridge, 8.00pm
Tickets: £12 (£6 concessions)
Box office: 01223 511511
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Thursday 2nd December
Lawrence Batley Theatre Huddersfield, 7.30pm
Tickets: £14, £12, £10 (concessions £2 off)
Box office: 01484 430528
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