Barbican Theatre, London
May 9, 2023
Ballet Black’s new touring programme is accurately named Pioneers. It contains one strong revival and a work that is right in the moment. It premiered at the Barbican, but I visited it again at Theatre Royal Stratford East, a theatre that represents their culturally and socially diverse community and tells stories that are current and political. It was just the place for it.
In these sensitive times of wokeness and cultural appropriation, Ballet Black sits safely on the right side of history and can express the life of the great Nina Simone with the respect and unequivocal love it deserves. Mthuthuzeli November, choreographer of Nina: By Whatever Means, has written a programme note, probably better described as a love letter to the singer, expressing in words what he then expresses so movingly on stage.
Simone won acclaim as an international singer, songwriter and pianist and the ballet opens on her performance in Montreux in 1976 when she turns her energies to civil rights activism. It is this aspect of her life where November’s choreography truly ignites. He uses Simone’s extended version of Sinnerman (Live in New York, 1965) which at 10 minutes plus is a marathon for the dancers but delivers a rip-roaring finale. The relentless drumming and simple repeated piano phrase provide the driving force for this gospel favourite. The edgy tremor keeps passions on the boil and the dancers respond with fervour.
For the ensemble, ‘60s fashions change to soft draped robes adding motion to the full-body movements of November’s distinctive modern African style and the focus lifts from narrative reality to a metaphysical level with a plea for humanity in an era of vicious, racially motivated cruelty. Isabela Coracy, as Simone, dressed in a gown of African print holds centre stage playing the dynamics with commanding presence. The right role, for the right dancer at the right time.
The work opens in storytelling mode, as the young Nina develops her musical talents, her love of the piano expressed in lavish ports de bras over the instrument. A gospel song episode by the Zolani Youth Choir (from November’s hometown), and danced by the company is a joyous celebration. Simone had a troubled life and a difficult road to stardom. Her marriage to the abusive and controlling Andrew Stroud, (Alexander Fadayiro) is displayed in an uncompromising duet in a suitably claustrophobic setting.
The new work is aptly paired with Will Tuckett’s, Then or Now, a finely structured classical work to hard-hitting poetry by Adrienne Rich. The abstraction of the ballet technique is spiced with the relevance of the themes; the poems suggest, and the dance decodes. Newcomer, Helga Paris-Morales, interprets the opening motif with quiet elegance, joined by others as sequences repeat in different form bounded by a shifting pattern of chairs.
The music has the same quiet power. Biber’s Passacaglia, a virtuoso highpoint of Baroque violin music, arranged and recorded by Daniel Pioro, supports and inspires the dance in a happy partnership. Each of the eight Ballet Black dancers brings a unique personality to the mix. This was especially notable in the poem about letters where words link to movements and are interpreted with humour and individuality, characteristics that make Ballet Black so special.