In the spring of 2022, Jasmin Vardimon Company moved into its new, purpose-built premises based in Ashford. This state of the art building houses dance studios, a massive production space, a performance and audience space with technical gallery and a genuinely ambient café to relax in. It’s impressive on all levels.
The parent company has been internationally lauded since its inception in 1998 and continues to inspire audiences with regular tours as well as London seasons. JV2, made up of students currently on the Professional Development Diploma programme, was formed in 2012, as a venture set up especially for young dancers to further their training and give them a performance platform to gain experience at a professional level. Towards the end, during this particular show, it was hard to believe they weren’t seasoned professionals.
There were two new works created by long-standing Jasmin Vardimon associates Vinicius Salles and André Rebelo as well as a reimagined piece by Vardimon herself. Salles’ It’s Not Unusual opened with a somewhat slow start, a little too much procrastination, but quickly picked up pace. A multi-disciplinary dance artist, who has a Master’s in documentary film-making, one can appreciate the different aspects of his theatrical thought processes. He’s tackled the acutely topical subject of male toxicity, with a focus on the lyrics of some well-known songs by Tom Jones. A clever idea, with a valid stream of clear references though some of these are a little predictable and contrived: women dressed as men with fake moustaches; a man dressed in sexy lingerie. Some of the graphic displays of misogyny and aggression made quite uncomfortable viewing but I assume that this was the point. There is little value in taking a gentle approach to this subject.
Interesting too, that the 1968 hit Delilah was one of the songs he chose to expose. The Welsh Rugby Union has banned the singing of it at matches because it contains the lyrics: “I crossed the street to her house and she opened the door; she stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more”. While none of the underlying content in this creation was a laughing matter, there were still some comedic episodes. One such moment was the line of men (women) at the back of the stage, as if relieving themselves at a urinal. The scratching of bottoms drew smiles – toilet humour occasionally saves the day. There were some strong passages of choreography that stretched the dancers but also gave opportunities to those with obvious talents in acting and singing. Talia Stern has a confident stage presence which shone in all three works and Euan Garrett has much to offer, possessing good technical ability and an engaging personality.
The second piece, Mystique, revealed more of the versatility that will make the dancers of JV2 an asset to any contemporary company. Rebelo has depicted “a mysterious world, merging fantasy and darkness” in which lighting plays an important part (designed by Hannah Clancy, a student at Rose Bruford College). In a heady mix of music (including some by Jocelyn Pook), the dancers expressed a range of emotions across different genres of dance. Most powerful was when the entire ensemble moved in canon or in unison, with Stern once again, very memorable.
The greatest impact was made in the final piece, Vardimon’s Canvas. The audience was shifted from the theatre to a very large studio in which we all stood around what looked like an oversized sandpit (it was in fact filled with tiny balls of polystyrene). The large cast of dancers began lying on their backs in the pit. A single woman tentatively walked along the perimeter edge (Carina Freixas Palou, serene and graceful) before joining the melée. Before long the dancers were leaping through the air in movements that took flight from no visible preparations. At any given moment they were prone and grounded, then within seconds, were suspended horizontally a few feet in the air. Energy levels were high, frenetic, compelling, unrelenting and so vigorous, it was quite frankly, miraculous that they stayed on their feet. This was a distinctively individual vocabulary, at once intriguing. At just 17 minutes long, I could have watched more, which is about as complimentary as it gets. What a shame that this piece cannot transfer to Sadler’s Wells for logistical reasons, because it made a grand finale.
