{"id":489,"date":"2019-03-16T13:38:32","date_gmt":"2019-03-16T13:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/russell-maliphant-vangelis-the-thread\/"},"modified":"2023-12-26T17:41:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T17:41:50","slug":"russell-maliphant-vangelis-the-thread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/russell-maliphant-vangelis-the-thread\/","title":{"rendered":"Russell Maliphant & Vangelis \u2018The Thread\u2019: Tethering Modernity to Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although pop culture has reduced Greek dance to pottering around broken bits of pottery strewn around the dance floor at weddings, Russell Maliphant\u2019s choreography in The Thread <\/em>displays a more authentic and nuanced version of Greek dance. The performers hold hands and trace patterns across the stage, ducking under each other\u2019s arms while rhythmically stepping in time. But more than demonstrating Greek dance, Russell Maliphant & Vangelis\u2019 The Thread<\/em> explores the connection between Greek traditional dance and modern dance, as well as its relationship with other global dance genres<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Men
Photo credit: Yannis Bournias<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Read more dance show reviews here. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russell\nMaliphant & Vangelis \u2018The Thread\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The show opens as a circular cluster of\ndancers bask in golden light and arch backwards, collectively blooming like a\nsunflower. Then, they begin to uncoil and fold into other patterns. Each person\nis simply a node in the long thread, as they benignly pass each other or\ntemporary split off into smaller factions.  Even as they break off to form new patterns, a\nsense of unity prevails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Men
Photo credit: Yannis Bournias<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This introductory segment continues for some time, but the eye doesn\u2019t tire of watching the slow metamorphosis; it\u2019s extremely satisfying \u2013 like watching a slow shifting screensaver. <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But Vangelis\u2019<\/a> complex, layered music draws attention to the dancers\u2019 steps, a slow-quick-quick<\/em> gait (like the rumba, but succinct) that propels them into new formations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Four
Photo credit: Yannis Bournias<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Eighteen dancers perform in The Thread<\/em>, half men and half women. The busy sound score spaces out with melodic harp strums as four sylph-like women pose on stage; they crease at the torso and slowly adjust their serpentine arms \u2013 the vignette conjuring images of models on Greek vases, a subdued version of the plucky muses in Disney\u2019s Hercules<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Men
Photo credit: Yannis Bournias<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When the men perform, the serenity gives way to jubilant kicking and stomping: a jolly, non-alcoholic and literal \u201cknees up.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Their percussive slaps of the thigh conjure\nimages of flamenco, and slaps of the foot, Chinese martial arts. As they dance\nin a line, legs bending and extending in sync, the audience can notice\nsimilarities with Irish step dance \u2013 although they are able to show camaraderie\nin a way that the formal staging of Riverdance<\/em>\ndoesn\u2019t allow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greek dance traditions are not just a springboard for choreographic inspiration; they remain at the heart of the show. A group performs, illuminated in centre stage by Michael Hulls, flanked by two trios of modern dancers upstage. The modern dance<\/a> creates movement to complement the Greek dancers\u2019 choreography, in a sense, playing second fiddle. But the modern dancers have other times to shine, particularly in the penultimate segment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dancers
Photo credit: Nikiforos<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dancers trickle onto stage, often in pairs,\nfollowing the long white strip of light to stage left. They scooch on, sliding\non their shins and caterwauling the entire way across with fluid floor-work and\ncartwheels, seemingly caught in a slipstream. The performers loop around,\nrunning behind stage to begin again on stage right, to create the flowing\nillusion and reference the singular direction of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When performers enter from both sides of\nthe stage, they link past and future with the present. The individuals are not\nphysically connected, holding hands or forming a conga line, but they dance in\nunison to the music as a community. And when they project their focus outwards,\nthey extend their invitation to the audience, who join in with a lively\napplause. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[yasr_overall_rating null size=”large”]\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dancers
Photo credit: Nikiforos<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Russell Maliphant & Vangelis\u2019 The Thread<\/em> is a 75-minute production, with no interval. The show premiered at Sadler\u2019s Wells<\/a> on 15 March 2019, and it will run at the London theatre until 17 March 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Were you at the world premiere of The Thread<\/em> \u2013 or have you seen Russell\nMaliphant\u2019s other choreography? Let us know how you reacted in the comments\nbelow. Otherwise tell us about your experience watching or trying Greek dance! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russell Maliphant & Vangelis\u2019 The Thread explores the connection between Greek traditional dance and modern dance, as well as with other dance genres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[84,85,112,113,69,86,87,102],"class_list":["post-489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-show","tag-england","tag-europe","tag-folk-dance","tag-greece","tag-london","tag-modern-contemporary","tag-uk","tag-world-dance"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Russell-Maliphant-Vangelis-The-Thread-c-Nikiforos-3.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":496,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489\/revisions\/496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}