Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Antony Gormley review: Icon is remarkable madness in three and a half tonnes of clay

1/6
Emma Byrne3 December 2018

Most choreographers try to engage your emotions – Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui demands you come prepared to use your brain as well. His remarkable Sutra in 2008 saw monks from China’s Shaolin Temple back-flipping and pole-vaulting their way across towering wooden crates; 2010’s Babel (Words) brought together hip hop, kung-fu and ballet, caging the performers in steel frames for the ultimate in dance-offs. In his latest programme he’s teamed up with long-term collaborator Antony Gormley, the Turner prize-winning artist, to showcase two works with Swedish contemporary stylists GöteborgsOperans Danskompani. The results are nothing short of remarkable.

Not that Cherkaoui is above using headline-grabbing theatrics, mind. Icon, which had its UK debut on Friday, has enjoyed much pre-publicity fanfare, mostly on the back of the promise of seeing dancers grapple with three-and-a-half tonnes of soft clay. And grapple they do; over 70 minutes chunks are torn from the floor, shaped, moulded and pummelled with abandon.

In one striking scene, the dancers create elaborate headdresses to wear as they form a long flowing line; in another they play baseball with a clay mitt and ball as onlookers drink from clay cola bottles. Tiny groupings of sculpted bodies – instantly recognisable as Gormley figurines – are stamped on and hauled across the stage with obvious enjoyment.

There’s method behind the destructive madness. Icon examines our urge to create and deify figures – religious leaders, politicians, pop stars – only to demolish them and begin again. There are some dud notes. A sex scene, apparently meant as light relief, is met with almost silence. There’s an over-earnest TED-like talk, delivered at breakneck speed, about mindfulness and ‘virtualities’, and how we can reshape our past by reimagining it.

No matter. The piece ends with the dancers piling huge slabs of clay on top of the other – stepping back they reveal a figure, hugging its knees, head bowed in contemplation. Each performer silently drops into the pose, the curtain falls.

With Cherkaoui, it seems, even the clay is made to think.

Dance shows to see this Christmas - in pictures

1/5

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