Review: Dance Sampled, IDFB, Birmingham Hippodrome, May 2016

International Dance Festival Birmingham has always strived to open up the world of dance to new and diverse audiences, and no show tackles this mission more directly than Dance: Sampled. Curated by Sadler's Wells, Dance: Sampled is designed to introduce different audiences to dance styles they might not usually have the chance to see, with a high quality mixed bill featuring artists from all over the world.

First up on the mixed bill is Company Wayne McGregor with a masterful re-staging of Outliers, set to the Violin Concerto by Thomas Adès. With a sleek, stylish grey palette, McGregor lets his bold feast of contemporary dance speak for itself. His choreography is not subtle; the audience are treated to a marvel of strength, flexibility and technical precision from this masterful company of dances. Reflecting the surprising, irregular nuances of Adès' music, McGregor's choreography is packed with odd, unexpected moments. From an astonishing pas de deux between two men, quirky body ripples and flexed wrists, and the lights fading on couples still spinning, McGregor demands your attention and imagination throughout.

Outliers is followed by BBC Young Dancer 2015 finalist Vidya Patel, performing Basant. Choreographed by Sujata Banerjee, Basant celebrates the colours and joy of new life. Vidya Patel, an extremely elegant dancer, mesmerises with the precision of her fast pirouettes and rhythmic footwork, elegant carriage of her head and neck, engaging use of her eyes and eloquent, expressive Kathak gestures. Vidya's evident joy at performing on the Birmingham Hippodrome stage, in her home city, uplifts and transports the audience.

The balcony scene from Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo & Juliet is performed by Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers Yaoqian Shang and Jamie Bond. One of the most recognisable love themes in ballet, this pas de deux is imbued with the exhilarating, impassioned joy of new love. Intertwining hands, lingering eye contact, ecstatic leaps and stunning counter-balanced lifts make this one of the most memorable scenes in any ballet.

Two tango duets from German Cornejo and Gisela Galeassi provide the most show stopping moments in Dance: Sampled, provoking audible gasps and spontaneous, mid-performance applause from an admiring audience. Their first duet, A Los Amigos, reflects a dangerous game of sensuality and power between a man and woman. Although moving swiftly, the couple appear absolutely glued to the stage. The intricacy and speed of their leg kicks and flicks is breath-taking, and certainly adds an extra dimension of risk to the occasion. Cornejo and Galeassi's final piece, SuSu, is more narratorial, speaking of forbidden love and secret passion. Pulses are set racing by gravity defying lifts; in the blink of an eye Galeassi appears to flip in mid-air, or drop to the floor as quickly as if she had fallen - but of course she hasn't. These two dancers are so incredibly slick, passionate and charismatic; fully deserving of their standing ovation.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Faun gives us a unique combination of contemporary and ballet, with this new interpretation of Nijinsky's L'apres midi d'un faune. Dancers James O'Hara and Daisy Phillips create their own genre of dance with spell-binding expressiveness, off-balance movement and extreme flexibility verging on contortionism. O'Hara's extraordinary limberness and endearing gestures certainly do evoke the awkward grace of young deer.

Dance: Sampled is concluded by the award-winning Pockemon Crew and their performance of Hashtag. This is no typical hip-hop group; Pockemon combine whip smart break dance moves, super-fast hip hop, Spanish guitar music and a cheeky sense of humour to create an atmosphere of fun and celebration. I would not have expected flamenco style music and hip-hop to combine so effectively, yet the two dancers circle one another like matadors, spinning and twisting and even flicking their waistcoats like capes. Pockemon Crew's innovation really embodies the spirit of Dance: Sampled and is certainly a great introduction to hip-hop for lovers of classical or Latin dance.

Dance: Sampled is an incredible evening which showcases the diversity and passion of the UK and international dance scene. It also speaks volumes for the Birmingham audiences, reacting warmly and energetically to every dance style, from Latin to hip-hop and everything in between. I leave with a new found love for my favourite ballet and contemporary companies, and a desire to see many more styles of dance in the future.

Photo: Simon Richardson

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