Whatever you thought you might get from a show produced by a Belgian contemporary dance company, it wasn’t this. Les Ballets C de la B’s director Alain Platel has his name on the bill, but he takes a back seat for this unique performance built around the rich and soaring voice of Congolese countertenor Serge Kakudji, singing baroque arias accompanied by a group of rock and jazz musicians from Kinshasa.
It sounds random but it turns out to be an inspired meeting of musics. The melodies of Monteverdi, Handel and Vivaldi are absorbed into the polyphonic textures of xylophone, drums and likembe (thumb piano). The 11 musicians, led by guitarist Rodriguez Vangama, transform this centuries-old music into something that sounds personal, indigenous and alive; giving it heat and heart. The music is treated with utter seriousness and with silliness, backing singers Russell Tshiebua and Bule Mpanya like a pair of class clowns, grinning, emoting and wooing the audience. This isn’t really a dance show, but there is plenty of dancing — rhythms bouncing through the musicians’ bodies as through their instruments, elastic torsos winding, pelvises twerking.
It’s hard to see exactly what Platel has added. The structure is a bit sprawling — it goes on half an hour longer than the billed 90 minutes — with an unexpected coda as the musicians come out dressed as sharp-suited sapeurs (the Congolese dandy subculture). When Vangama sheds a fur coat to reveal a Belgian military uniform, there’s a stab of reality, a reminder of turbulent history (and present) that points to questions about the performers’ lives, but we’re left to speculate. Still, this is a show brimming with life and incredible music.
Until June 6; sadlerswells.com
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