Review: Thick & Tight in Papillons – performers and friends; a brilliantly creative space to reside in

Thick & Tight continue their creative journey with a collaboration with the Manchester Collective at the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre.

The Manchester Collective’s mission statement reads “we create intimate and intense human experiences inspired by the music that we love, for everyone”, and I’d say they and their larger creative team absolutely succeeded.

Also involved are electronic music artist CHAINES, cellist Laura van der Heijden and The Camberwell Incredibles, an arts collective of practising and learning diverse artists.

The evening is called Papillons, taking its name from the music piece Sept Papillons (Seven Butterflies) by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. After the fact, I’d definitely describe the evening more as a music event than purely dance, which is, of course, fine, but not necessarily how the Southbank advertised it.

The whole evening definitely screams Thick & Tight in relation to the inclusive environment and sophisticated production values – and these are ongoing, positive traits of the duo. Especially in the form of audience understanding: each moment/piece is explained through narration and subtitles before it happens. One could imagine this becomes tiresome for a regular theatregoer, but actually, it has the opposite effect. It makes a familiar environment feel reborn, in a very positive way.

In many ways, the night belongs to van der Heijden. She is a brilliant musician, equally technical and emotional, and shows her range as an artist interchanging between classical music, new work and experimental forays with total ease and command.

CHAINES is a confident presence in composition and electronica, and The Camberwell Incredibles do brilliant work in connecting the entire evening to a lived experience as opposed to something purely observed.

I’m a fan of Thick & Tight (Daniel Hay-Gordon and El Perry) and always enjoy what they offer, even if I don’t connect with every single aspect of the work. What’s always evident is the rigour and authenticity of their creativity.

Their first dance interlude was in reaction to a movement from Imogen Holst’s The Fall of the Leaf, and they both danced a solo that was their interpretation of the music.

What they showed could encapsulate them as a whole as individual dancers, but of course, they’re more than just one thing. Perry discussed their thinking centred on the cellular workings of a leaf and executed an intricate, precise solo with reserved power. Hay-Gordon spoke of a recent personal experience with his grandmother, Margaret, and took her idiosyncratic mannerisms and wove them into a chair-bound solo. Familiarity and gentle melancholy filled the space.

Sept Papillons, seven miniatures for solo cello, discussed butterflies and their relationship to a dwindling environment. Thick & Tight didn’t want things to become literal, so if you didn’t know the subject matter, you wouldn’t necessarily know the inspiration. However, if you did, one could perhaps see cocoon-like containment and wing exploration.

When the pair danced together, their personalities shone – Perry as sharp as a knife, Hay-Gordon expressively dynamic. Choreographically, one also recognises their skill – motif, repetition, subtle directional changes, rise and fall, and intentional gesture. Their work speaks but doesn’t shout. Commands attention but doesn’t bombard. It’s interesting and hypnotising… and that doesn’t happen very often on the London dance scene, so thank god for them.

Midway through the performance, Thick & Tight lip-sync a pre-recorded conversation between CHAINES and van der Heijden, and I must admit it was my favourite moment. Why? Because it’s so simple yet impactful. Part Carry On (contemporary dance), part French & Saunders, you can see Perry and Hay-Gordon are in their element as both performers and friends, and this is a brilliantly creative space to reside in. What will they do next…

Matthew Paluch Guest Author

Matthew Paluch was awarded a place at The Royal Ballet School in 1990 where he graduated in 1997. His first four years as a professional dancer were spent working with London City Ballet, Scottish Ballet, K-Ballet and English National Ballet, becoming a full-time member of ENB until leaving in 2006.

Matthew graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance, Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma in 2007, and was formerly on faculty at The Royal Ballet School. He completed his Masters in Ballet Studies at Roehampton University in 2011, has been a freelance writer since 2010 and currently works in the Law Sector.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.