Dance Review: Michael Clark Company @ Barbican Theatre

Lindsey
By Lindsey Last edited 165 months ago
Dance Review: Michael Clark Company @ Barbican Theatre

melissahetheringtonheroes.jpg
Melissa Hetherington by Jake Walters
"Come, been and gone" blew our tiny minds back in October. Michael Clark's inimitable quirky yet gorgeous interpretations of some of our favourite rock and roll tracks, matched with a rack of Stevie Stewart's vibrant, sexy and frequently surprising costumes (catsuit styled for the dancers, tenty and pipey for Clark's cameos) hung on a cast with breathtaking technical ability and artistry and dramatically lit by Charles Atlas was a recipe for a standing ovation.

Now it's back, and even better with 20 minutes of new material for "Come, been and gone". Clark adds an extra middle section using Bowie's Sweet Thing, draping his three female dancers ingeniously and seductively along a ballet barre upstage. But the real sweet thing is Benjamin Warbis leaning provocatively against the wings looking for all the world like a boy child rock star and oh be still our beating hearts.

It feels like the opening Venus in Furs bit has been fleshed out and there was no flying fur coat like last time (a floating lady in a harness, instead). The piece is evolving and feels more confident and decadently lush. It's staggering that the cast can execute Clark's incredibly demanding choreography with such strength, poise and accuracy throughout the piece. Despite their uniform straight faces we like to imagine they're enjoying it as much as we are. Especially when three of them get their bare bums out - a buttock trio of backing dancers for one of Clark's diversions.

Melissa Hetherington is consistently outstanding, delivering awesome work with cool ease while Kate Coyne amazes again - even in the anonymising hyperdermic needle catsuit, expressing so much through the movement of her body. Heroes grips by understatement, all intricate articulation and deceptively simple, yet hyper controlled teamwork with Bowie looming angularly in the backdrop. Simon Jennings puts in another bravura Aladdin Sane performance and by the time The Jean Genie's strutting its stuff, we're beaming, jigging and wide eyed with excitement.

Stunning. Go suck Clark's rock.

Come, been and gone is at Barbican Theatre until 12 June. Tickets £10-35. For more information visit Michael Clark Company.

Last Updated 04 June 2010