Eliot Smith Dance (ESD) is a well-established, small and vibrant NE company; they’ve not performed in Dance City for some time, so it was good to see them back to première this double bill: a duet by the iconic, American choreographer Paul Taylor, Duet, made in 1964, and a solo, Human, a 2023 creation by Eliot Smith.
It made for a finely crafted evening, if rather short. However the Q & A afterwards kept the sense of occasion and was full of interesting information.
Duet is utterly charming, a gem created in the early years of Taylor’s long career. Staged by one of his original and finest dancers, Carolyn Adams, it has all the hallmarks of the great man’s choreographic style.
Full of love, beautiful movement and highly musical, it’s performed to the largo from Sonata VII by Franz Josef Hadyn, with the original hand-painted costumes by George Tacet, danced by Rowan Parker and Yamit Salazar. The motifs, the shapes all worked, as did the simple lighting, originally created by Jennifer Tipton. Having seen the Taylor company as a young person, I was struck by how much contemporary dance has changed, and how this work has held over time. It’s wonderful that ESD has Duet in its repertoire.
With Human, we experience a leap forward to today. There’s an impressive stage set with excellent lighting—though I couldn't find who the creative was, unfortunately—with an original score by Adam Johnson and costumed by Eliot Nelson.
Performed by the charismatic Yamit, for which he was a North East Culture Awards Finalist in 2023, this work explores the nature of being human. It’s strong and theatrical with vivid projections at the end and offers three stages of human behaviour, or rather three views of human behaviour.
Choreographically, it could have been even more adventurous, particularly with such a fine performer. The music is impressive, with some powerful horn playing by David Tollington, although some sections inevitably worked better than others. This is an ambitious and accessible dance piece and it would be exciting to see how other dancers, including women, might come to grips with the choreography.
Past and Future continues on tour until the end of July, with further performances at:
- The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle 26 June, 7PM
- Woodhorn Museum, Ashington 29 June, 2PM
- Chelsea Theatre, London 3 July, 8PM
- Online digital showing 5 July, 8PM
- Durham Fringe Festival, Durham 24–28 July, 7PM