An evening with Rambert is always thought provoking. This brilliant, diverse company of dancers invites us to see three very different short pieces that connect directly with the audience.

Since David and Venus, we’ve put the human body on the highest pedestal, shaping and perpetuating an unattainable beauty standard. Eye Candy, originally created for Rambert’s livestream 2021 season by Dutch siblings Imre van Opstal and Marne van Opstal shows the pains and the pleasures of inhabiting the human body.

In Greek mythology Cerberus is the guard dog at the gates of the underworld, preventing the dead from leaving. Ben Duke’s new piece is set on-stage during a contemporary dance performance. A meta dance-comedy and a musing on mortality, complete with funeral couture and live on-stage music from percussionist Romarna Campbell, soprano Rebecca Leggett and classical guitarist George Robinson.

Rambert closes the evening with a treat by Alonzo King, danced for the first time by a UK company. In King’s own words, “everything that exists in nature is seeking to return to its source. The child runs to its parents, and the river seeks the ocean.” Human beings have one thing in common – we want a happiness that is ever fulfilling and never goes stale. Joy is the goal. King’s Following the Subtle Current Upstream is about how to return to joy.

Eye Candy is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Rambert Commissioning Council.

Header image © Mariano Vivanco