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#15 - JRL 6537
The Times (UK)
November 5, 2002
Moiseyev Company
Dance
Apollo Hammersmith
HE MAY be a household name in his native Russia, but until this week Igor Moiseyev’s globetrotting company had not visited Britain for nearly four decades. I’ll be surprised if UK audiences have to wait as long to see this zesty, determinedly populist troupe in action again. Moiseyev, who is 96, was a premier dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet. His company, said to be the world’s first professional folk-dance ensemble, was founded 65 years ago. Moiseyev’s tried-and-true approach was to magnify theatrically folk material drawn, at least initially, from within the former Soviet Union.
His work remains a boldly engineered cross between ethnic exuberance and Busby Berkeley extravaganza. It’s Russia’s answer to Riverdance — only Moiseyev got there first, and with far more variety.
Moiseyev is said to have amassed a repertoire of some 300 dances. He’s brought 15 to London, ranging from the sweet Summer mating dance to the brilliant Moldavian Zhok, or promenade.
In Moiseyev’s famous Partisans Nazi-fighting guerrillas, encased in floor-length capes, glide and gallop about the stage as if on horseback. Two Boys in a Fight — really one boy (Oleg Chernasov) doubled-up in a costume — is a great stunt that brings down the house. An all-male shipboard dance featuring cleverly syncopated human machinery is another unqualified hit.
Moiseyev’s reach extends beyond Russia’s borders, though not always wisely. A sinuous, spangled Egyptian dance smacks jarringly of Las Vegas. The Greek Suite, despite some shake-a-leg acrobatics, seems like filler. At least the male trio Gaucho emphasises intricate footwork, while the Spanish jota is a non-stop case of “try and top this!” with castanets.
Classical training endows Moiseyev’s dozens of tirelessly ebullient, mainly young dancers with phenomenal precision. Whether indulging in cute, cartoon-broad character comedy or huge ensemble patterns, they’re one of the tightest, most flawlessly “together” groups you’ll ever see.
But, spirited as they are, they didn’t quite capture my heart. This may not be entirely their responsibility. Veering between the mightily impressive and kitsch, Moiseyev’s work emphasises effect over emotion. I began to feel overwhelmed by the company’s infectious energy, and maybe a little hungry for something more reflective and lasting.
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