REVIEW

BRIDPORT YOUTH DANCE - DREAMS

BRIDPORT ELECTRIC PALACE

Silver branches hang above the stage like ghostly fingers; in the darkness elves in golden

hooded cloaks carry lamps with a rhythmic trance-like walk to eery whistling and clicking

sounds. Bridport Youth Dance’s ‘Dreams’, features inhabitants of a magical other world

which maintains its presence through moods shifting from lyrical and vivacious to edgy,

from joyful to sad.

Nikki Northover’s trademark tap routines happily still feature: chimney sweeps

gallivanting on rooftops, a nightmare audition comically misfiring, and traditional ritzy

glamour, as well as tap-perfect elves. There are also impressive contemporary numbers

in shimmering and translucent costumes, sustaining a mood of enchantment and weaving

narrative into the choreography.

Boy dancers shine, from the younger group’s playful runs, leaps and rolls to the older ‘Lost

Boys’’ exploration of strength; while Harry Poole’s return visit with ‘Lucidity’ showed what

those boys may eventually achieve.

Boundaries blur with interactions between barefoot and tap dancers, and creative

cello/tap duets. The compositions and live performances of local musicians Andrew

Dickson, Matt Benjamin, Jack Harrison, Finn Buchanan Brown and Andrew Hurst added a

strong extra dimension.

All is not safe in the dream world: we see a ‘Duel’ with shadows, and uncertainties

reflected in the unpredictable moves of ‘Ricochet’ and the nervy drama of ‘The Edge’.

‘Overcome’ innovatively uses ropes to enact struggles between freedom and constraint.

Choreographers Nikki Northover and Aimee Symes give us up to twenty dancers onstage

shifting effortlessly from synchrony to counterpoint, highlighting the enjoyment, skill and

commitment of the eighty young performers.

LUCY GOODISON