Week 15

After touring the UK, Brazilian dance legend Deborah Colker finally brought her cast to the Barbican in London to show the latest production Cruel.

The piece starts with eight stylish couples dancing in a romantic court to an eclectic mix of Baroque and modern music. Everything is perfect and synchronised, but like in life and love, things don't last too long and dancers fall out. We join in a journey of passion and grief, love and disappointment of 18 dancers playing various characters. Colker shows the cruelty everyone experiences at some point in the life – be it in family, relationship or friendship. This performance was rehearsed for two years, which is especially evident once a couple dances on the moving table with a set of knives. Colker requires ballet training from her dancers and her choreography has strong ties with classic tradition, which translates into the beautiful result on the stage. Her style is accessible and eye-catching, especially in the second part where four giant mirrors are wheeled in to reflect character emotions. Holes in the mirrors allow the dancers to hide and appear again, to slide in and out.

This was one of the most moving and awe inspiring performances I have seen this year.

Also this week: listened to the last LSO performance this season of Harding conducting Bruckner's 8^th Symphony, discussed Robert Harris' The Ghost in the Zone 1 Book Club, watched an excellent French thriller Tell No One and started reading David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas.