A Life in Four Seasons review – dancers of all ages have spring in their steps

AI Summary

The article reviews the dance performance 'A Life in Four Seasons', which features dancers of all ages and a reimagining of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Despite its neat concept, the performance falls short due to its generic choreography and lack of a strong narrative.

The Concept

It was a great idea: a dance through the four seasons of life, with performers whose own ages range from spring to winter, set to a reimagining of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Neat.

The Choreography

Choreography is by the American Alexzandra Sarmiento, who works mainly in musicals and as a movement director in theatre, alongside director Tinuke Craig. The set-up is a trio of dancers for each season, always dressed in blue, pink and orange, who we come to realise represent the head, heart and gut of a person.

The Musical Score

For the soundtrack, Vivaldi is chopped and spliced by DJ Walde, known for his funky hip-hop scores for ZooNation Dance Company. Back in 2012, composer Max Richter did his own genius rewrite of the Four Seasons, which has since been endlessly used in dance, and it is a mountain of a challenge to take on the same piece.

The Verdict

Ultimately, there is not a strong enough sense of story or character or purpose to carry this show. It’s fantastic that Regent’s Park is committed to commissioning dance, to prove to general audiences that dance doesn’t have to have songs or script to be great theatre. But if you’re going to convert people, it has to be really, really good.