4* Review – Evening Standard – Maliphantworks3
© Julian Broad
'Mesmerising work by choreographer of magic moves'
Russell Maliphant may be one of Britain’s most interesting dancemakers, but there’s a touch of the magician in him too.
His choreography makes dancers seemingly liquefy at will, using light and shadow to sculpt bodies. His steps — a blend of ballet, tai chi and even yoga — are restrained and meditative: understated it may be, yet Maliphant has created some of dance’s most striking sequences.
Maliphantworks3 is his third programme at Notting Hill’s Coronet Theatre. This bill is made up of two duets and two filmed solos and lends itself perfectly to this intimate space — you hear every breath and see each drop of sweat as it hits the stage.
The Space Between, danced by Maliphant and his wife Dana Fouras, brings together the team behind last year’s Silent Lines. Watery video projections by video and light artist Panagiotis Tomaras ripple over the dancers’ bodies, creating a hypnotic, hologram feel. The second half is padded out by Film One and Two, which see the pair wrestle with capes and an elasticated “swing”; 2018’s Duet, however, is a worthy finale – all poised ports de bras and sculptural movement to staticky Donizetti. Mesmerising.