If the title of this mixed bill from Yorke Dance Project brings to mind sunshine and feelgood vibes, stop right there. To mark the 25th anniversary of her company, Yolande Yorke-Edgell has collated a programme celebrating female dance pioneers who lived in California (as the British artistic director used to) and it’s not exactly sunny: the tragic life of Isadora Duncan, the white-hot power of Martha Graham, the strong geometry of Bella Lewitzky, and a piece of Yorke-Edgell’s own that feeds on the spirit of all three. Surfin’ USA it ain’t.
It is an insight into modern dance history, which started with the spirited, passionate Duncan at the turn of the 20th century. She threw off the shackles of classical dance, restrictive fashions and social expectations to pursue freedom of artistic expression and was celebrated in the salons of Europe. But her life was a string of tragedies, primarily the deaths of her three children, alongside doomed love affairs and financial woes. This is all captured in an effective reworking of Kenneth MacMillan’s Isadora, originally created in 1981 (this version edits out her death, strangled when her scarf caught in the wheels of a car). Amy Thake, in the title role, wafts, skips and floats on the breeze, and shows us a woman who lived through her body, ruled by sensation with no fear of feelings – who had a generous dose of self-importance, too.
Modern dance technique really began with the towering figure that is Graham, but her dances are not often seen here, so this revival of Errand Into the Maze from 1947 is a real highlight. Based on the Minotaur myth, it casts a woman (Abigail Attard-Montalto) in the Theseus role. Originally it was Graham herself, and you can see her mighty presence, the stunningly stark shapes, toes thrust to the ceiling, the drama through stillness (and some incredible core control). She makes light work of the Minotaur and any other metaphorical demons. What a woman.
A highly technical quartet, Meta 4, by Bella Lewitzky (1984) and Yorke-Edgell’s own A Point of Balance, also display angular strength, so different to the mellifluous flow and molten bodies more common these days in contemporary dance. It’s a serious, meaty programme and a valuable history lesson.
• At the Linbury theatre, Royal Opera House, London, until 22 March. Then at Theatre Royal, Winchester, on 23 April.
