Jack
"One of the night’s liveliest works came from Drew Jacoby. Her male quartet, Jack, delivers drama and zing, pitching body-pumping panache alongside virtuosic classical moves, the dancers reconciling these disparate styles with poise and dazzling personality. Kitted out in neon Lycra and metallic face paint, they lunge, wiggle and chug, testing the parameters of masculinity. At times they exhibit the freewheeling flamboyance of a rave; in other scenes they’re as focused as a pack of speed skaters. The group’s fluid, empowered energy is riveting, as is Jacoby’s tight choreographic language." -Dance Tabs
"Entitled Jack, it was danced by four male characters to a collage of sound that ranged from scratchy recordings of human voice to Gerswhin’s Three Preludes for Piano. Dressed in clinging black pants, with chest defining tops in lime green and orange, glitter smeared on their heads, one moment the men were camping it up as if in a hard core gay dive; the next they were producing immaculate ballet jumps. The aim, we were told in a programme note, was to juxtapose ‘classical ballet aesthetics with themes of pop, urban culture and gender non-conformity.’ For all its shock value, Jack was a highly intelligent, tightly structured piece, one that really did shine a new light on contemporary culture and dance’s place in it." -Culture Whisperer
Choreography
Drew Jacoby
Premiered
Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, London, April 2019
Music
George Gershwin, Luigi Grandi, Kurt Schwitters, Antonio Russolo, Luigi Russolo
Costume Design
Drew Jacoby
Lighting Design
Natasha Chivers
Original Cast
• Oscar Ramos
• Daniel Domenech
• Joseph Kudra
• Tiemen Bormans
Back to Choreography
Photos © Foteini Christofilopoulou, Drew Jacoby
