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BrumHour was invited to see Rosie Kay’s Fantasia by Birmingham Hippodrome.
By Julie Wallis
World Premiere: Rosie Kay’s Fantasia at
Birmingham Hippodrome
Last night saw a World Premiere! Rosie Kay’s Fantasia at Birmingham Hippodrome. Performed by Shanelle Clemenson, Harriet Ellis and Carina Howard. With no interlude this three-part performance lasts just one hour.
Part one is dedicated to the sun and the dance is very traditional ballet and with the dancers wearing tutus, although I wouldn’t describe them as “traditional” tutus. A quick costume change for part two and in the Moon dance our dancers are wearing catsuits with fringing and the dance is a much more contemporary feel to it. Much more like the Rosie Kay choreography I’ve grown to expect.
The show ends with the final third being the dance dedicated to Earth and this time our dancers are wearing sheer, black, floaty almost ethereal dresses.
Now, luckily for me, there was a brief description of what each segment of dance was about, otherwise, I would have never guessed it had anything to do with the sun, the moon and the earth. The only Fantasia I knew of involved dancing hippos and crocodiles!
Do not confuse Rosie Kay’s Fantasia with the Disney version, the only similarity is the name, but that said I did find elements of the Disney version in the music score, although my plus one totally disagreed with me on that.
With the music composed by Annie Mahtani to include works from the likes of Bach, Vivaldi and Beethoven.
I loved the way the dancers complemented each other, sometimes mirroring each other, sometimes all doing their own thing but always coming back together perfectly. There were moments when they moved with the fluidity of silk. Then there was the part that made me think of bears scratching their backs up against trees. Maybe it’s the joy of the interpretation as much as the physical act of dance that makes watching Rosie Kay’s Fantasia such fun.
Rosie Kay’s Fantasia is at Birmingham Hippodrome until 26th September. Book tickets here: birminghamhippodrome.com/calendar/rosie-kay-fantasia
This isn’t a sponsored post.
