Wild Cursive spells great dancing

Elegant and sombre: one of the Cloud Gate dancers
10 April 2012

An invisible discipline guides Wild Cursive. The dancers seem to move with the random ripple of leafy fronds but there's also a precision and clarity to their steps - the Taiwanese troupe have Tai Chi training as well as lessons in ballet and Western dance.

They also have a calligraphy teacher, which is the starting point for Wild Cursive. This is considered the highest form of Chinese calligraphy, and a programme note describes how calligraphers "dance" when they write, thereby begging the question of what dancers mean when they move.

The answer from Cloud Gate's director Lin Hwai-min is the energy and spirituality of the soul, and the result is 70 minutes of super-precise, super-mystic dancing. There's no plot, no partnering and minimal sets and costumes. The soundscape features rain, wind and waves on rocks.

Sections are mesmerising, such as the fast sequence for the men and the large group scene where the dancers intermittently synchronise their moves.

And the two dozen dancers are gorgeous, fleet and sleek, with both a super-springiness and hyperflexibility. They also have a physical discretion - their virtuoso moves don't seem in the least bit flashy.

However, they are also fantastically po-faced, and it's a strain to sustain your curiosity for 70 minutes of oceanic earnestness.

Until Friday (0844 412 4300).

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Of Taiwan: Wild Cursive - The Final Chapter Of Cursive: A Trilogy
Sadler's Wells
Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4TN

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in