Life in the balance

Maybe it’s because my sister used to curate international dance festivals that I’ve always been drawn to the form – along with my natural curiosity about the body in performance. These days I rarely go to the theatre but will go to see dance at the drop of a hat. It seems more intensely capable of expressing human emotion than any other art form except perhaps music.

I’d never seen the Balletboyz until this weekend when I went to see Fourteen Days at Sadlers Wells. If you’ve not seen the show, you should cancel whatever else you might be doing and go see them. It’s fabulous. [Update March 2019 - the new show Them/Us is on at Sadlers Wells March 5-9]

Some of the dancers have been clients of mine and as with athletes’ bodies, I’m always struck by how wonderfully fit they are – and what a mess they are! Talk about suffering for your art.

The show Fourteen Days has a lot to do with the theme of balance – balance in a precarious world. And in a way the dancers have always to find this balance of exploring the limits of their bodies while keeping control of their physical and mental well being. The show is full of risk and their artistry is full of risk too and you end up sitting there grateful that there are those with the bravura and imagination and brilliance and dedication and courage and sheer bloody-mindedness to take on that risk.