Dancin’ Oxford performances at The North Wall, Amina Khayyam Dance Company and James Wilton Dance, 1st & 2nd March 2024 – Maggie Watson reviews

Last weekend, The North Wall marked the opening of Dancin’ Oxford’s Spring Festival with performances by Amina Khayyam Dance Company (AKDC) and James Wilton Dance.

AKDC is a Kathak-based company, and when the auditorium opened, musicians Debasish Mukherjee, Jonathan Mayer and Iain McHugh (on tabla, sitar and cello, respectively) were already in place beside the empty, blue-lit stage. Due to a last minute programme change, the show began with an improvisation session in which dancer Amina Khayyam and the musicians introduced some of the musical ideas and rhythms that we would hear again in the main piece. Khayyam, who trained in Kathak with Alpana Sengupta and Sushmita Ghosh, is a compelling dancer, and she has assembled an exceptionally accomplished group of performers.

Story of ONE, Story of MANY is a variation of AKDC’s production ONE, choreographed by Khayyam, who joined the musicians in parhant (the recitation of syllables) at the side of the stage. Three dancers, Abirami Eswar, Mohika Shankar and Jalpa Vala swirled their long dresses, spinning in beautiful swathes of movement, their bare feet beating the ground. Among the images of toil and loss (at one point a dancer seemed to give away her baby), there was also playfulness, when a dancer mimed a juggling game. The allusive nature of the work, somewhere between the abstract and the representational, left it full of uncertainty and ambiguity, perhaps triggering memories rather than telling a story.

The following evening, James Wilton and Sarah Jane Taylor’s LORE offered a terrific theatrical experience in which their gymnastic leaps, lifts and turns and subtle use of lighting created the illusion of many armed monsters and giants in shocking silhouettes. We saw a hideous straw-headed beast, horned creatures and a man turned into a tree. Inspired by pagan mythology this was not cosy folklore but a horrifying account of metamorphosis and terror. Michael Wojtas’ music added to the sense of mystery and oneness with nature by incorporating sounds of the natural world (sea, wind, birdsong, and crackling fire). The minimalist set, designed by Wilton, used vertical poles, resembling tall stalactites or the bare skeletons of trees, interspersed with round flat discs, like stepping stones. There was so much content in this densely packed dance work that at times I felt lost, searching for narrative in what seemed to be excerpts of unfamiliar stories, but the dramatic impact of such a committed and highly professional performance was breathtaking.

Maggie Watson

3rd March 2024

Find out more about Amina Khayyam Dance Company here

Find out more about James Wilton Dance here

And check out further Dancin’ Oxford events here

 

The Storm – James Wilton Dance, Oxford Playhouse 22nd October 2019 – Charlotte Stacey reviews

Facing a storm, be it meteorological or manmade, there are various responses, innate, considered or irrational, that people make – do nothing, batten down, evacuate, even chase, watching cloud formations or personal interactions, trying to comprehend the imminent impact. The publicity for The Storm from James Wilton Dance company asked, “In this storm can you find peace?”

Heading to Oxford Playhouse, then, a front of questions loomed. With the unavoidable political and environmental contexts, foremost was what type of storm was this? We were told only to expect seven contemporary dancers “combining acrobatics, break dancing and martial arts to specially composed thundering electro-rock”; what transpired to this viewer was a storm of human dimensions.

 

James Wilton Dance presents The Storm, Oxford Playhouse 22nd October 2019

Returning to Oxford, this time to the Playhouse, is James Wilton Dance, one of Europe’s most in demand dance companies.  They present The Storm, a whirlwind of lightning fast athleticism, where acrobatics, break-dancing and martial arts fuse to form dance that will blow audiences away.

You can’t see the wind, but you can see how it changes objects.

You can’t see unhappiness, but you can see how it changes people.

A low becomes a depression, a depression becomes a storm.

When you’re unhappy people say “it will all blow over”. 

There is a calm before the storm, is there one afterwards?

 

In this storm can you find peace?

 

Premiered in autumn 2018, The Storm features 7 dancers, a specially composed thundering electro-rock score by Amarok/Michal Wojtas, and scientific input from Dr. David Belin, Lecturer in behavioural neuroscience at Cambridge University

Performance:  Tuesday 22nd October 7.30pm

Venue:  Oxford Playhouse, 11-12 Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2LW

Tickets:  £25.00/£20.00/£15.00/£10.00 Available online here or call the Box Office on 01865 305305

Duration: 1 hour 32mins with interval

Find out more about the company here

 

Dancin’ on the Green: Dancin’ Oxford Summer Festival, Gloucester Green 15th July 2017

Join Dancin’ Oxford for a fabulous summer afternoon of performances on the Dance Stage in Gloucester Green.  The varied programme includes national professional companies James Wilton Dance (who performed Leviathan to a sell-out audience at Pegasus this March), Company Chameleon, Sole Rebel Tap and C-12 Dance Theatre, plus the ever popular Grannny Turismo (who are bringing their revved-up shopping trolleys back to the streets of Oxford!) plus talented local street dance crews Beat Street and Step2Dance.  It’s free, it’s exciting, it’s awesome, it’s the very best in dance to the heart of the City! All afternoon there will be much to see and enjoy (including a mass Zumba workout!).

Stay for 10 minutes, for an hour or all afternoon. See below for a schedule of performing groups.  Bring the family, a picnic or choose from the many street food stalls on site selling food from around the globe. Fun for everyone, and best of all its free!

Date:  Saturday 15th July, 12.00-4.00pm

Location:  Gloucester Green Market Square, Oxford OX1 2BU

Dancin’ On The Green features:

James Wilton Dance – Leviathan
A 25 minute performance of the sell-out show seen at Pegasus in February, Leviathan will leave you gasping for air under the sheer ferocity of movement. A cast of 7 will wow you with a blend of athletic dance, martial arts, capoeira and partner-work, accompanied by a powerful electro-rock soundtrack by Lunatic Soul! Follow Captain Ahab and the crew as they search for the great white whale Moby Dick…you won’t regret it

Company Chameleon – Push
Athletic yet sensitive, Push is a beautiful yet powerful and engaging male duet, which looks at the different stances we take as relate to one another. The piece looks at how we push to exert dominance and control, and at other times choose to submit and step back
Choreographed by Anthony Missen and Kevin Edward Turner, aka Company Chameleon.
Co-commissioned by Without Walls and Dance Initiative Greater Manchester

Sole Rebel Tap – Spatterdash
An energetic and colourful tap show to an electro-swing soundtrack created especially by The Chicken Brothers. Sole Rebel Tap’s glamorous dancers tear up the stage with spats, fishnets and tailed jackets dancing to well- known music, creating an uplifting and popular show which will appeal to all ages.

Plus, don’t miss some of the best Urban Dance crews Oxford has to offer, including Beat Street and Step2Dance

C-12 Dance Theatre return to Oxford with Secret Encounters – A series of short dance pieces, choreographed by exciting, diverse and award winning choreographers that will pop up unexpectedly. Inspired by “First encounters that last forever”, the pieces will transform outdoor spaces into a live performance for a brief moment. The times will be secret, the locations will be secret…… Catch them if you can! CLICK TO WATCH TRAILER

Dancin’ on the Green is supported by Oxford Playhouse

12.15 – 12.35pm – Music (DJ Set)

12.35 – 12.40pm – Beat Street (street dance)

12.40 – 12.50pm – Sole Rebel Tap – ‘Spatterdash’

12.50 – 1.10pm – Company Chameleon – ‘Push’

1.10 – 1.15pm – Step2 Dance (street dance)

1.15 – 1.40pm – James Wilton Dance – ‘Leviathan’

1.40 – 1.50pm – Sole Rebel Tap – ‘Spatterdash’

1.50 – 2.05pm – Granny Turismo (On the Green)

2.05 – 2.10pm – Compere

2.10 – 3.00pm – Zumba ‘Summer Jam’ (with George Martini & team)

3.00 – 3.05pm – Beat Street (street dance)

3.05 – 3.25pm – Company Chameleon – ‘Push’

3.25 – 3.30pm – Step2 Dance (street dance)

3.30 – 3.55pm – James Wilton Dance– ‘Leviathan’Dancin’ on the Green