Culture
REVIEW – São Paulo Dance Company at Mayflower Theatre
‘São Paulo Dance Company’ is the latest performance presented by the ‘Dance Consortium’ to grace Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre. ‘São Paulo Dance Company’ are Brazil’s finest dance company, fusing the elegance of classical ballet with the sensuality of Latin American dance. They are the forefront of South American contemporary dance supported and set up by the government of the State of São Paulo and led with artistic direction by Inês Bogéa. ‘São Paulo’ was created in 2008 and with them being a relatively new company comprised of only 22 dancers, it’s so exciting to see such a celebrated cultural performance on our stage thanks to the ‘Dance Consortium’.
Artistic Director, Inês Bogéa, has been leading ‘São Paulo’ since the very beginning and knows the company better than anybody. Being a dancer, filmmaker, and writer herself; it’s clear to see why she has been credited with having built the company which has performed to thousands internationally. This particular dance presentation is made up of three different incredible masterpieces, all telling a different story whilst presenting a sense of Brazilian flare and culture. The first is Goyo Montero’s emotionally charged ‘Anthem’, the second being Nacho Duato’s sensual ‘Gnawa’, and the third is that of Cassi Abranches’ colourful and flirtatious ‘Agora’.
As with any dance review I write, I think it only fair to write about each individual dance as its own piece. This is instead of picking out some key performances as that would just be impossible for a dance of this scale. On that note, I’d just like to say how incredible the whole company was, as they were all magnificent. All of the dancers clearly lose themselves in the moment and you can feel the passion and exchange of energy come across in that auditorium. As I’ve said before, these people aren’t just dancers – they’re athletes. So without further ado, let’s talk dance:
Anthem
This piece of dance was created in house in 2019 and is meant to reflect on life cycles and collective identities. This is inspired by songs that become hymns or – anthems – for each individual, group, generation or even nation. It’s very easy to say, that this is exactly what is portrayed through only the movement of the body. I found this piece to be raw and stripped back, using primal movements which sometimes made you feel uneasy – but there was some beauty about this. There was a constant theme of breathing, almost literally taking you through all of the highs and lows that life has to offer. It was showing the ebb and flows of life. The whole company didn’t leave the stage once, making some parts of ‘life’ feel cluttered and overwhelming, but others feel dispersed and controlled (especially when they would focus on the duets).
The movements were powerful and I particularly liked the use of height in heightening things upstage, but lowering things downstage to keep a central focal point. The simple tonal costume, made it feel as if the dancers were in the nude, adding to the simplicity and rawness of the piece. The use of light was also incredibly simple, but the use of shadows really helped add an extra edge on top of the dance. Sometimes we would see shadows, and sometimes when the dancers were backlit all we could see were silhouettes – really helping bring across that contrast of life. The use of individual hanging lights was also incredibly powerful when the dancers were all spaced out laying on the floor. To top it all off, the music from Owen Belton was the perfect score that helped tell the story from a heartbeat, to primal music, to an army theme, and back towards a heartbeat to symbolise the end of life cycle. The constant change in volume seemed to make it feel as if you were always on the edge of a panic attack and like dancer Yoshi Suzuki said, “its symbolising both the best and worst things that society can do”. Incredible piece of dance, a story beautifully told – bravo!
Gnawa
This dance is inspired by the mystical Islamic fellowship of the Gnawa people, who were brought to North Africa by the Berber as slaves. It’s meant to bring the heat and colour to the hypnotic and ritualistic music of North Africa. This piece had everything. It was chaotic and super energetic yet all of the dancers were together in unison. The group dances were mesmerising to watch and you couldn’t take your eyes off the way in which they were moving as a unit. The duet was also gorgeous. It was tranquil, calming and beautiful – a big contrast to how this piece started. The music had shifted to the noises of nature before the pace was brought up again at the end of the piece. The lights were incredibly simple but effective, the candlelight of the Berber stands out in particular here. The seamlessness between the increase and decrease in volume and how the dancers and lights would react was perfect.
I would say, trying to follow a particular story line to this piece was difficult. Without any background knowledge or information of it, you’d find it a lot harder to interpret. It wasn’t until afterwards that it started to properly click for me; it was all about the balance between religion and desire, heart or mind. Having said this however, it still doesn’t take away from the performance shown. You can still enjoy what is going on and interpret it in your own way. That’s the beauty of dance. A stunning piece of work.
Agora
This final piece was again created in house in 2019 and is all about time and exploring its rhythm. This piece was beautifully well-rounded, starting and ending in the exact same way. You could instantly tell it was themed all around time because of the underlying percussive beat, resonating with the tick of a clock. This was such an athletic and energetic piece, boasting an uptempo score from Sebastian Piracés, sharing the Afro-Brazilian culture through percussion, rock, and vocals. The lights throughout always managed to highlight a focal point to focus on and gave a little bit of extra feeling through colour. The soft, sensual, and flirtatious dancing from the women seemed to entice the flirtatious sexual temptation of the men, with their contrast of big and powerful movements looking as if they had gone feral.
It seems incredibly fitting that the word for ‘time’ in Portuguese is actually ‘tempo’, and the way the constant tempo changes through the use of ticking, or flowing water (as well as just the general music) keeps the flow of the dance from stagnating. Each dancer seemed to have a different tempo to each section of music with them all fit together perfectly. It’s like visually seeing a 5 part harmony coming together. The perfect finale for the night.
To sum up, ‘São Paulo Dance Company’ certainly brought their Brazilian heat, flare, energy and power to the stage – and its clear to see how they have pinned the name of Brazil’s finest dance company. You can really tell how hard the whole company work together, and how polished each of these dancers are. We are incredibly lucky in having the opportunity to see a company like this and that is all thanks to the ‘Dance Consortium’. I particularly like that some of the ‘Dance Consortium’ productions have a Q&A section afterwards, where you get to question some of the dancers and creatives behind what you have just watched. The aim of the ‘Dance Consortium’, is to get more people talking about dance and thus get more people watching it. I think what Artistic Director, Inês Bogéa, said in the the post show Q&A sums up what ‘São Paulo’ think perfectly, “Why can’t England and Brazil all talk about dance like we all talk about football? That is the end goal.”
‘São Paulo Dance Company’ are continuing on their UK tour until March 2024, and if dance or Brazilian flare is something that interests you then you should definitely find time to give them a watch. After all, what better time to watch them than during Brazilian carnival season? I can’t wait to see what the ‘Dance Consortium’ brings to Mayflower theatre’s stage next and I wish the whole company of ‘São Paulo’ the best of luck in the rest of their time in the UK.
If something looks perfect from the outside does it mean it actually is?
That’s the concept that director Jay Roach brings to life in the new movie The Roses released in August 2025.
The Roses is a reimagining of the 1989 film The War of the Roses which was originally based on Warren Adler’s 1981 novel.
Although unlike the novel the characters instead are shown to struggle with their different careers either rising or falling.
It has been adapted, in my opinion, to make it resonate with women a lot more as in both the novel and first film the women were stay at home mothers who felt unsatisfied.
This appears to be one of the main reasons for the divorces with Barbara (Kathleen Turner) eventually turning to a catering business.
However, within the new modernised version Ivy’s (Olivia Colman) successful career is a point of contempt for Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch).
While it starts off with a more realistic depiction of parents struggling with the loss of a career and a start of a new one, it slowly divulges itself away from the typical divorcee movie.
I watched this movie at the Everyman (luxury I know!) and the grip it had on me as an audience member was outstanding.
With the selection of actors involved in this movie it’s no surprise that there is a mix of comedy and drama making it a satirical black comedy.
While it was delightful to watch, I feel that some audience members might criticise the realism of the movie.
Yet I go to the cinema to be transported from real life so the mix of realism and shock factor was highly entertaining.
A contrasting mix of comedy and darkness
The performances from the actors was exactly what the movie needed.
The chemistry, or lack thereof, between Colman and Cumberbatch was so believable that you would think that they were married in real life.
Their delivery of both the comedy and the rage was again so believable that it sucked me as the audience into what was the “dirty laundry” of their personal lives.
With a supporting cast including Andy Samberg, Allison Janney and others their characters mostly brought the comedy relief needed in to break the movie up.
They also gave us a contrast to the main relationship being shown which helped us recognise how some of the actions were exaggerated for our benefit.
However, some critics online have noted that while it is undeniably a satirical dark comedy, the dark comedy seemed to be held back some times, therefore not always giving it the edge it needed.
I think that for a 15 certificate movie it had just the right amount to stretch over its wide audience.
Another criticism that The Roses received was that the contrast between the comedy and cruelty was sometimes so abrupt that it didn’t hit as hard as it could have.
At some points the comedy seemed out of place which almost gave the film a sort of jarring feel as they changed between the emotions.
The ending is ambiguous which can have mixed reactions from the audience.
Some may like to have the movie tied up neatly at the end whereas others like that they can believe what they want to believe.
I am the latter in the case of this movie as I enjoyed the fact that I could believe either the more macabre ending or not.
To me the ending, without giving any spoilers, had me on the edge of my seat with a real 360 turn.
Again it had the perfect amount of shock factor and comedy which highlighted the overall tone throughout.
I felt that it drew the entire film together nicely especially with the ending performance from Coleman and Cumberbatch.
Winchester original artist Sam Bishop has been releasing music for almost a decade but after not releasing a new song for the last two years, Just a Little is set to be release this Friday, February 7th.
Sam first got into music when he was in secondary school, after watching Imagine Dragons in the O2 he fell in love with their support act.
As an only child he has always been a creative person, writing stories and songs in his free time.
The first thought has never been how can I perform live but how can I write?
Sam also enjoyed:”I enjoy feeling nervous but eventually acting felt like second nature, so I decided to give music a go.”
After getting into music in school Sam released his first song in 2016.
“It has been trial and error since with each year getting better and better performing and writing more.”
I asked him whether he has always written his own songs, and he explained: “The first thought has never been how can I perform live but how can I write?
“That’s the angle I attack music with.”
For Sam music has always been a way to express how he feels.
But what’s the best part of the writing process?
Well, for Sam it’s the feeling of a song coming together as a whole, he compared the writing process to a tap, that it slowly drips until it starts to flow.
“You get a melody and a good lyric. It feels amazing when it all comes together it’s so special, it’s definitely a process it takes time and trial and error.”
Sam’s new single Just a Little, is no different, going through this same process, and has now come together ready for its release this Friday.
It all started in last summer, when Sam was on a flight from Miami to LA, he wasn’t interested in watching the typical films you find on airplanes, and felt creative, this is where the chorus for Just a Little was born.
Being away from family for a prolonged amount of time through working away and travelling gave Sam the feeling of wanting to be connected and keep in touch with people’s lives whilst being away.
Just a Little is about questioning whether you’re enough.
It’s a song full of vulnerability and expressing that and truly allowing yourself to feel those feelings.
After Sam’s travels he got home and revisited the song, from there it started to take off and really build.
He sent the song to his friend Toby who he describes as an unbelievable guitarist, and an excellent musician.
Toby then worked on the song as a production, whilst Sam worked on the lyrics.
Just a Little was kind of a one off, as a process it was very natural.
By mid-November the song was finished and now is the time for its release.
This song has a different sound to Sam’s previous songs, and he’s excited for people to hear this new style of music from him.
“It’s a very personal song washed under happy and jolly music.
“It’s very current and popular; something you’d expect to hear on the radio.”
Sam hopes that that the release allows people to connect with not just the lyrics but how the song feels.
Following the release Sam has big plans for the next year.
This is the start of a new sound for him, and he hopes more songs like this will follow with maybe one or two before the end of the year.
There are also a number of gigs to be announced for the next three months that he is looking forward to performing.
At the end of our interview Sam said: “Songs will happen, it’s what I love to do it’s so expressive as an art form and it’s something I will always want to do.
“Just a Little was kind of a one off, as a process it was very natural.
After not releasing a song for two years, once the lyrics were finished and he got the song back from Toby he knew this was the one that this would be the re-release of his music as an original artist.
Just a Little is out at midnight February 7th.
For announcements of new music and dates of performances you can follow Sam on Instagram @sambishopmusician.
The wait is over for Winchester’s burger lovers, as a new Five Guys restaurant has opened in the heart of the city centre.
The American burger chain, world famous for its customisable smash burgers and seemingly bottomless fries opened on Monday, December 2nd.
It was a soft launch without any ceremony for the restaurant, but the new staff and management immediately had a growing queue of customers on their hands.
Five Guys has taken one of three units from the former Debenhams department store. The other two are Nando’s which opened last month and Pizza Express.
Founded in Virginia in 1986, Five Guys launched in the UK in 2013 and has become a popular choice for burger lovers, including celebrities such as Tommy Fury, Mollie King, Ed Sheeran, and Maya Jama.
There are now 1,800 restaurants worldwide including 171 in the UK.
The new Winchester branch is expected to be a popular addition to the city’s food scene.
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