The Arts Review​

Hiltinho Fantástico in Puff. Image, Camille Blake ** Described as channelling Passinho, an urban dance style born in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro – alongside samba and capoeira - Puff aspires to conjure the idea of a light breath. Brazilian choreographer Alice Ripoll employing the motif to illustrate how silenced cultures adapt and persist even when seeming to vanish. Dancer Hiltinho Fantástico’s supple hip sways, gentle arm flows, and light-footed footwork all rooted in a h

Soft God by Emma Martin. Image, Ros Kavanagh. ***** The stage is in need of sweeping. Upstage, a prop cloud rests against the wall, a little distance from the costume rail. In the middle of the space a circle of chairs is placed as if to facilitate a Dancers Anonymous meeting. Alone, Jessie Thompson sits, delicately munching her crisps, dressed like sin in Katie Davenport’s shoulder-less, short black dress. Grey bearded, Wayne Jordan enters and sits next to the cloud. The bac

The Fifth Sun. Image, Luca Truffarelli *** Seen in preview, The Fifth Sun describes itself in Artspeak terms that could mean anything or nothing. Humanity’s past confronting our turbulent present leaning cautiously toward an uncertain future. Trading in grief, hope and ancestors, dancers move to mourn, to honour, to listen and, perhaps, to heal, keening our world and ourselves in a collective act of dance. Choreographer Mufutau Yusuf striving for primal connections. The audit