Gala de Danza, the glamorous international dance, music and art festival, founded in 2013 in Los Cabos, Mexico by former ABT dancer Christina Lyon, finally lands for two nights in London in the grand Central Methodist Hall with its impressive organ. It is my first time inside… My first reaction is it is not a suitable venue for dance. Sight lines are poor.
My second is why no interval in its two-hour running time. There are twenty-one numbers. And it is a hot, muggy evening. We have been warned there will be no bar, so bring your own. But, it is a relaxed evening: people turn up at all times, wander in and out, are allowed to take videos or photos (without flash). Many impressive young people are taking part in the production. The final number is dedicated to London Youth.
The intention is to inspire. From classical ballet extracts, as is usual in galas, to modern pieces, to musical performances from Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orlinski (who is also a break dancer his blurb informs us, which he demonstrates in the high-spirited Grande Finale), to hip hop, to sexy Latin American dance (Anton Sboev and Patrizia Ranis accompanied by talkative guitarist Marcin), to an amazing twelve-year-old Spencer Collins foot-perfect in his Franz variation from Coppelia (he, naturally, gets the loudest cheer, which he deserves unreservedly), to William Close’s astonishing own composition (Earth Harp Symphony # 22) on his gigantic Earth Harp. I’ve never seen anything like it.
So, something for everyone, overwhelmingly so... Saxophonist Megan Glover opens proceedings with Vivaldi’s Winter. Orlinski also sings a Vivaldi accompanied by the lovely London Metropolitan Orchestra string quartet (if only all the numbers had live music—the recorded Onegin music is almost unrecognisable as Tchaikovsky.
He also sings Schubert’s Ave Maria, appropriate in this hall, whilst Braylon Browner, all in white, swirls like miasma around him—is this ecstasy? Singer Enesa Berisha and guitarist Mafro River close the evening with their cover of Billie Eilish’s "Birds of a Feather".
There are two solos choreographed by Jade Hale-Christofi for tall, leggy Ukrainian Vsevolod Maievskyi, who will be leaving ENB this season after too short a stay, and for Nicholas Gaifullin of New Orleans Ballet Theatre. The first, Mercury (composer Ilan Eshkeri, organist Gerard Brooks), is a world première; the second is Hozier’s "Take Me To Church", which the now disgraced Sergei Polunin made famous (directed by David LaChapelle it went viral on YouTube in 2015). The moment is hard to recapture on a bare stage.
Now for the classics: Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corales dance the final pas de deux from Onegin act three, which I’ve seen three times this season, and it lacks context. Viola Pantuso of the Royal Ballet and Shale Wagman from Paris Opera Ballet dance Vasily Vainonen’s Flames of Paris (not often seen here) with élan and ballon. NYCB’s Emma Von Enck and Andres Zuniga dance a perky cadet pas de deux from Balanchine’s 1958 tribute Stars and Stripes with appropriate tongue-in-cheek performances. Variations are dazzling from them all.
Supple Melissa Hamilton and a majestic Maievskyi stop the heart with their stunning partnership in Mauro Bigonzetti’s Caravaggio. Bruno Moretti and Claudio Monteverdi’s music is dreamy, slow. Why it has taken so long for the Royal Ballet to promote her to principal is beyond comprehension.
There’s a new playful Romeo and Juliet, a world première, from Juliano Nunes, danced by Braylon Browner and Kayla Mack in soft shoes. It is lovely and touches the heart with its hopeful youth and their final joint heart finger shapes. Rambert’s Un Petit Départ, choreographed by Emma Evelein, brings contemporary dance into the mix. Wheelies to the fore, six dancers, two female, four male, do what the title says.
The standout for me is Murmuration Compagnie with martial arts style choreography from Sadeck Berrabah. The company has brought two complementary pieces, Dentelle and Into The Wild. Original music is by Adel and Sadeck Berrabah. He leads from the front like a conductor only with his back to his thirty-strong company. They reminded me a little of Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16. All in black, hats, too, till their red linings are revealed dramatically, they move like birds in flight, arms semaphoring in synchronicity, or so I think. I am proved right in their final number, in which geometric arms spell out ART IS FOR ALL.
And last but not least, Nunes has choreographed a Swan Lake for some fifty youngsters dressed in white T-shirts and black pants… Derek Deane eat your heart out. Rows upon rows of pas de quatre cygnets keep excellent timing with complicated arm gestures in point and counterpoint. In collaboration between Gala de Danza and Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), top finalists from YAGP competitions were brought by invitation for a week long masterclass in London. If this is the result… Brilliant.