Review: SKATEPARK, Sadler's Wells East

‘Double Backside Grind’, ‘Reverse Ollie’, ‘Goofy-foot Tailslide’.

The colour and energy of the language was matched by the sheer joy of the competitors in the skateboarding at the Paris Olympics, a standout event for me and many viewers whose only knowledge of the sport had been gleaned from a sideways glance at the kids en route to The National Theatre. Roll in the clothes and an unmistakable privileging of performance and fellowship over winning, and all the elements of a youth subculture were present and correct. 

Mette Ingvartsen plugs into that unique hybridity in a show that may not have the greatest exponents of tricks, the most acrobatic of tumblers, the most thrilling of set pieces (although a ‘Puissance’ style high jump competition shows the power and athleticism of the kids). Instead, we get a cohort of Generation Z (and a few Generation Alpha) kids whirling around the stage on wheels, one or two on roller skates, but most on boards. Roll in the beats, some smooth, some punky, and there’s a hypnotic quality to the show that proves surprisingly seductive, even relaxing.

At the heart of the production is the fundamental promise of dance - to delight the senses on their beholding the body in motion. Watching the slips and slides, I recalled my own 25 year long affair with Isaac Newton, not literally, despite those curly locks, but with his laws of motion. For me, it was motorbikes, leant over into corners, gravity pushing one way, the wheels pushing the other, balancing body, bike and risk in real time. You become at one with the vehicle as your centre of gravity relocates and friction disappears. On stage, the kids are catching the same ride, the looseness of the connection between the too solid flesh and too solid earth.

There’ll be different shows on skating in the future - Starlight Express in London right now, if you must - but few will catch the Zeitgeisry wave like this one, a perfect introduction to this still new venue to what may be a whole new audience for Sadler’s Wells. 

For the rest of us, Skatepark is an affirmation that the language may change, the clothes and music too, but the underlying need for young people to find their tribe and exalt in its fellowship persists. 

One other element for that to flourish is required too and I found it as I walked back through the (private, managed, controlled) space of Westfield Shopping Centre. Signs and announcements continually told us that no skating was permitted, nor masks, nor hoodies - the exact activity and look that had entertained us for the previous 80 minutes. Don’t be who you want to be, be who we want you to be.

The skaters wouldn’t have it any other way - what’s the point of immersing oneself in a subculture, even one perhaps a little too keen to embrace brands like Red Bull, if you can’t stick it to The Man along the way? 

Skatepark at Sadler’s Wells East until 12 April