Draft Works: Notes

Notes I took during Draft Works. It felt good to write while watching a performance. I hadn't done it in so long. The Linbury studio is small, quite looming and dark. The seats are a bit bigger than the ones in the Opera House, which makes it easy to take notes without disturbing anyone. We were in the very back row but still had a remarkable view because of the hall's steepness. It was a completely different feeling compared to the rehearsal I went to back in January. Then, we were up close — front row — and you wanted that sort-of feeling because Dame Monica Mason was talking to the dancer (Natalie Harrison) and the audience. You wanted that intimacy. Since Draft Works was a performance, being able to see the small stage from up above gave you more of a scale of how the dancer/choreographers used the space. It also highlighted how powerful the men looked throughout the performance. It seemed as if they could stretch their arms wide and engulf the stage with their presence. I hadn't ever seen a group of male dancers with so much power.

Afterwards, I spoke with Sian Murphy. I asked her about how she reconciled her background as a classical ballet dancer with her interest in hip-hop. From what I gathered, ballet is her job and she loves it, but she sees hip-hop like a lot of non-dancers do. It's fun to dance to, and after a long day of work, you want to listen to what you love. I guess it's kind of like a design job — you don't want to come home and look a screen after spending all day at one. Or, at least, you don't want to look at a screen in the same way. You've got to find another outlet.

She also talked about her desire to create a strong, female role. Murphy definitely did that and Turk realized the part. She was fierce, muscular and demanding. But despite being taller than Thom Whitehead in pointe shoes, the two dancers really fought for the foreground. I think Whitehead won overall. Turk was super sexy, but Whitehead was the one who transported us (me, Tom and the other dancer — Camilla — I spoke with after the perfomance) to that gritty basement club. Sian said she wanted the female part to be a role any ballerina would love to do because it looked different and fun. I get that. But I think she's casting off her ability to choreograph for a male dancer. They were both so convincing. It was so much fun to watch.

That's what was so refreshing about the entire Draft Works performance. Tom and I went for a drink afterwards, and we were both giddy with excitement over what we saw. We couldn't stop talking about the enthusiasm and energy that exploded from the stage. Okay, Royal Ballet isn't doing the most amazing job of advertising Draft Works, and there were only two performances, but still, the ballet is providing its dancers with a venue to experiment. Monica Mason was there to watch. The audience was invited to come out and talk to the dancers and choreographers afterwards. It's clear that the Royal Ballet knows it's onto something. The show was sold-out. I'm wondering why there aren't more.