Swan Lake in the bath and a quarantine Elvis: dazzling lockdown dance – The Guardian

Choreographer Corey Bakers Swan Lake, reimagined in the bath, is a total delight. Made for the BBC, which goes some way to explaining why its production values are so much higher than all the other Zoom dance vids out there, Baker enlisted a cast of 27 top-flight swans, performing in their bathtubs from Houston to Hong Kong, all choreographed remotely. Its slick, tongue-in-cheek, and full of invention and clever effects, including a Busby Berkeley-style kaleidoscope of legs. But it also has intricate choreography and drama (thanks, Tchaikovsky!), not to mention some smart tiling.
Corey Baker Dance (@CoreyBakerDance)been sitting on my toilet seat(directors chair) for the past few months in lock down making… #SwanLakeBathBallet (out now on @BBCiPlayer@BBCarts) 27 elite dancers across the globe perform from their home filled bath tubs a modern-day Swan Lake made remotely during #Covid19. pic.twitter.com/pKIJOkbfq4
July 8, 2020
One of Andersons most accessible works, Elvis Legs marks its 25th anniversary with a special quarantine edition. Exactly as the title says, its a piece made up of all the Elvis Presley dance moves the original cast could find, mixed up into a new routine. Some of the shapes scream the King, some are more surprising, but its all 100% Presley, and a lovely bit of intertextuality. In this lockdown version, nine stripy-shirted dancers (plus a cameo by Dylan the Cat) thrust and pose in their separate on-screen cells, which is very Jailhouse Rock. The perfect dance for the medium.
Another existing dance adapted for the Zoom age, Clapping (originally called Why Are People Clapping?!), for National Dance Company Wales, is 10 minutes of rhythmic fun and games. It has wit, some spry moves from its four dancers and a section of choreographed handwashing that is right on trend. Performed only to the sound of the dancers hand claps ricocheting between their on-screen boxes, the piece was originally live-streamed from the dancers homes quite the feat of co-ordination, in every sense.
Mark Morris Dance Group
A compilation of four online dances plus chat from New York choreographer Mark Morris and musical director Colin Fowler. Fowler duets with himself playing Ravel for Lonely Waltz, which Morris adapted from steps already created in the studio, transposed to the restricted spaces of the dancers homes that one does feel a little like some friends prancing around their living rooms. More successful is Anger Dance, which takes a tighter focus on faces, gestures and the strengths of film. You can also see Lonely Tango, a mysterious black and white danse noir, all enigmatic looks and domestic tasks; plus feet, fingers and bottom cheeks dancing along to You Are My Sunshine.
Geraldine Pilgrims Handbag has been performed in theatres, parks, festivals, galleries and in a womens prison. And now on Zoom. The concept is simple: dancers and members of the public bop around their handbags to David Bowies Lets Dance. In this lockdown version, they dance alone in their lounges and bedrooms and theres something poignant about that, but the joie de vivre of the live experience is lost on the crowded screen. You can always make your own joy by dancing along with them.
A deep dive into the UKs south Asian dance scene in a series of 34 artist interviews. Its all very DIY, filmed on phones at home, sometimes with poor sound, but there are fascinating insights, such as Aakash Odedra talking about his mentor Akram Khan, and how he was so skint when he started out that he lived on bananas and Hula Hoops. Among the personal histories there are some short, engaging performances: Divya Kasturi dancing in her living room with sparkling poise (complete with small child dashing through the corner of the video), Sonia Sabris sleek dance of positive vibes, kathak guru Pratap Pawars incredible facial storytelling, and some Bollywood glam from Shruti Shah.

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