São Paulo Dance Company review –

Sadler’s Wells, London
In a triple bill by Spanish and Brazilian choreographers, dancers move in ritualistic unison, launch into flight or just inspire wonder

In the middle of São Paulo Dance Company’s UK debut is a pas de deux, between the dancers Ammanda Rosa and Nielson Souza, that is the highlight of the whole evening. Sometimes it’s impossible to describe why a dancer is so good, what it is that elevates them above others, except that you watch them with wonder and everything seems so … right, somehow. Rosa especially, with her close-cropped hair and pliable strength, is in control of her instrument in a way that seemingly transcends the sweat and guts it takes to get this good. There’s no projected showmanship or ardent love story between the pair, but something natural and inevitable, like the forces of nature at work on their bodies: folding, stretching, torquing, through and around each other.

It takes something special to stand out in this group of fine dancers, in a triple bill that gives us quality across the board. Everything’s well executed, beautifully lit, the dancing’s technical and athletic, in choreography from two well-established Spanish choreographers, Nacho Duato and Goyo Montero, and Brazilian Cassi Abranches (who recently contributed to Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Black Sabbath ballet).