In this 74-minute dance experience, lionized choreographers Kenneth MacMillan and Robert Cohan are paid much-earned tribute.
Dance Revolutionaries offers audiences the opportunity to envelope themselves into the world of renowned choreographers Kenneth MacMillan and Robert Cohan. The film is divided into two exhibitions: Robert Cohan’s Portraits and Kenneth MacMillan’s Sea of Troubles. York Dance Project has transformed these pieces to the screen, allowing for a new kind of viewership and appreciation to be bestowed upon these dances.
Robert Cohan was a dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director. Having trained at the Martha Graham Dance School, he made his professional debut with the Martha Graham Dance Company, later becoming a co-director of the company itself. He founded the London Contemporary Dance School and the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, pioneering contemporary dance choreography and teaching in the U.K. Portraits is a set of solo dances by a variety of talented performers, each clearly struggling against an internal battle, with exciting references to the Graham technique, a glimpse into his history with the company. Cohan’s primary motivation for his choreography was rooted in emotion. Feeling is the ultimate tool for his creations. This is crystal clear within this piece, evidenced even further with the intimacy of film. Viewing on screen allows audiences to get even closer to the action, truly experiencing the journey with the performers. Directed by David Stewart and performed by Edd Mitton, Freya Jeffs, Dane Jeremy Hurst, Jonathan Goddard and Romany Pajdak, this sequence of dances is a treat to watch.
Kenneth MacMillan was one of the foremost ballet dancers and choreographers of his generation, serving as the director of The Royal Ballet for many years and creating some of the most notable works of contemporary ballet. He believed that ballet should be ultimately connected to contemporary life and strive to portray complex truths that colour humanity. Sea of Troubles is a balletic re-imagination of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Honing on Hamlet’s active interior life, we clearly see and share his battle with grief, anxiety, and anger. Also directed by David Stewart and performed by Dane Jeremy Hurst, Romany Pajdak, Benjamin Warbis, Oxana Panchenko, Edd Mitton, and Freya Jeffs, this poignant, superbly filmed piece combines visual art with dance seamlessly, creating new ways to appreciate both art forms. Creative liberties with Shakespeare’s work allow for the message to remain clear without the privilege of words, such as Claudius and Gertrude dancing amongst the body of Hamlet’s recently deceased father, clearly communicating Hamlet’s horror at his mother’s perceived lack of loyalty to his barely cold father.
Dance Revolutionaries is a thoroughly enjoyable film and truly lives up to its name – gifting audiences with dances of two of the most revolutionary figures in the history of dance.