Far From Home brings to the stage the humanity of told and untold stories by voices not always heard. Where is home, and what does it mean to belong?
Far From Home explores the human desire for a better life, the search for safety, opportunity, connection and belonging. The work takes us into the journey that follows the decision to leave, navigating the emotional and physical realities of displacement while holding on to the hope of finding something better.
Performed by six professional dance artists, Alleyne Dance’s dynamic, powerhouse style brings to life the emotional and mental stresses experienced by migrant families, as well as the impact on the communities in which they settle.
Blending Caribbean, Hip Hop and Kathak influences within a contemporary dance context, the work invites us to consider how we connect with one another, make space for others and build a sense of home in an unfamiliar place.
Review by Stephen Gilchrist.
Alleyne Dance was founded in 2014 by sisters Kristina and Sadé Alleyne and blends Afro- Caribbean, Hip Hop, Kathak, Latin and Circus Skills within a contemporary dance context. Don’t know what Kathak is? I’ll tell you. It’s one of eight major classical dance forms of India, originating from northern India (primarily Uttar Pradesh). Its name comes from the Sanskrit word katha (“story”). So now you know!
And believe me the dance evening I reviewed threw just about everything bar the kitchen sink, into its choreographic stylings. Much of it was fast and furious. There were gymnastics, acrobatic lifts and some very nice and more recognisable dance moves.
This piece – ‘Far From Home’-conceived and choreographed by the sisters, who also formed part of the six strong professional troupe, was essentially an abstract work trying to find a narrative. Personally, I could not necessarily align the staging with the ‘[bringing] to life the emotional and mental stresses experienced by migrant families’ as the company suggested, but that is not to say that this seventy minute dance composition lacked integrity, power, on occasion beauty or, most of all, entertainment.
If anything, the relationships between the athletic dancers, tense, sometimes violent, mimed from time to time, and hot-wired, reminded me of the famous phrase, “Oh, the humanity!” which originated from American radio reporter Herbert Morrison during his live broadcast of the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. There were bodies on bodies, some remarkable lifts and a variety of precarious ballet leaps into the arms and bodies of catchers. There were dancers, crawling, rolling on the ground, pulling and pushing each other and feuding in a multiplicity of shapes and bodily contortions. In fact, a demonstrable Tower of Bable!
Periodically the stage was surprisingly flooded with a host of other performers, young’uns, including two children, all of whom I assume where dance students and those receiving professional development mentorship within the Alleyne programme. And jolly good they all were all too! There were some excellent stage pictures.
The whole shooting match was played out against a scenic backdrop designed by Emanuele Salamanca which if anything, and together with the staging, was strongly redolent of (one could almost over pretentiously suggest!) T.S. Elliot’s The Waste Land and its themes of the natural, spiritual, and moral collapse of Western civilization in the aftermath of World War. But readers needn’t be alarmed, this stage full of talented performers does, in fact, end up in a kumbaya moment!
It seems to be obligatory these days for contemporary dance to be performed in a half-light for dramatic effect but I did enjoy Salvatore Scollo’s lighting plot which matched the drama of the overall design and Giulia Scrimieri’s costuming.
The recorded soundscape by composer and musical director Giuliano Modarelli and composer Nicki Wells was eclectic. There were Afro rhythms, Spanish guitar and more conventional melody lines.
I have asked this question before. Does contemporary dance have to ‘mean’ anything? Does it have to have a narrative to make it accessible? As a piece of compelling dance, I did not have to log into the company’s vision of what this ballet represented. I saw in it that which chimed with me and as such it was an evening of choreographic strength which confirmed my belief that dance can challenge and reframe one’s view of the world in movement and music. Outstanding!
Cast and Creatives
Performers
Kristina Alleyne, Sadé Alleyne, Bryan Doisy, Giorgia Gasparetto, Juan Jesus Guiraldi and Iro Konti
Concept and Choreography: Kristina Alleyne and Sadé Alleyne
Executive Producer: Grace Okereke
Production Manager: Salvatore Scollo
Lighting Designer: Salvatore Scollo
Stage Design: Emanuele Salamanca
Costume Design: Giulia Scrimieri
Composer and Musical Director: Giuliano Modarelli
Composer: Nicki Wells
Dramaturgy: Fiona Graham
Set Composition: Noa Prealoni and Manuela Capraro
Co-commissioned by: The Place, London; Dance City, Newcastle; Dance East; and Dampfzentrale Bern.
Image credit: Camilla-Greenwell
https://www.sadlerswells.com/freesheet-alleyne-dance-far-from-home