The Russian company Kinetic Theatre is so unusual and original, it is without comparison. Sasha Pepelyaev presents what can only be described as Whirling Dervish Dance Theatre. The first of the two pieces this evening, The View of the Russian Grave from Germany, is for two men and two women (Tatiana Gordeeva, Konstantin Surikov, choreographer Sasha Pepelyaev, and Natalia Korolokhina). It combines asymmetrical patterns of movements, phrases and emotional outbursts which whisk the dancers through elusive, repetitive choreography – ranging from a hilarious mockery of the Russian folk dance tradition to more serious and very clever and elaborate movement sequences.
The second piece, Violators of Disorders, is even funnier and full of magic in parts. Performed by both teachers and students of the School of Contemporary Dance in Ekaterinburg, Russia, Violators of Disorders explores the ambiguous crossover between youth and adulthood. Within the structure of the teacher/pupil dynamic a whole range of interactions are presented – child/parent, student/student, young child/older child, adolescent girl/prepubescent boy. The most striking and mesmerising of these is a sequence in which three pupils, with heads of red, yellow and green hair respectively, repeat scenarios of teenage rebellion in numerous different combinations. It is as moving as it is comic. The dancers create disorder and take their audience into new planes of excitement and inspiration. Kinetic Theatre is truly doing something new – see the company if you can.