George Piper Dancers

George Piper Dancers at Theatre Royal, Norwich

Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 19 July 2004

The George Piper Dancers/Ballet Boyz

Traditional ballet, it wasn’t. But with all the classical precision, technically demanding moves, came a range of boundary-pushing dance discoveries that made for a stunning evening.

A unique feature of this company is that they do not have to appeal to an established dance audience. They convince general performance enthusiasts that modern dance is accessible, intelligent and huge fun.

The Ballet Boyz, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, recently gave us a documentary series on Channel 4 demystifying the creative dance process.

But it’s the rehearsal and tour footage that accompanies the dances on stage which is particularly novel. Indeed, some video links were applauded.

The talented team gave us a feast of challenging spectacle and dazzling, gymnastic artistry.

For starters, Approximate Sonata set the challenging tone.

Then, the main course was Mesmerics, using the full company in a haunting piece set to Philip Glass’ string quartets in pools of changing lights.

Dessert was the award-winning Broken Fall in which a dark journey through dense atmosphere was conjured in dance dialogue.

It was breathtaking and hinted how far dance can go now. Nobody had to understand every nuance of the narrative thread to enjoy it. But to enjoy it was a revelation.