Last Updated on March 7, 2026
High-energy double bill from France
3.0 out of 5.0 starsIt’s perhaps not a good idea to approach the unknown with clear expectations, but having read the promotional material, I had very defined expectations of Acid Gems, the first piece in a double bill brought to the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, by Ballet de Lorraine.
To wit: “Adam Linder’s Acid Gems is like a classical ballet that’s been plugged into a neon socket.” The Australian choreographer was apparently inspired by Balanchine’s famous Jewels, itself a dance reflection of the sparkle of a jeweller’s display window, put through Balanchine’s rigorous neo-classical filter.
Entering the QEH auditorium, we were faced with a bright pink backcloth (neon, check). Two women perched on high platforms atop ladders, their backs to the audience. Slowly, very slowly, dancers started filing onto the stage, their asymmetric lycra costumes coloured in variations of purple and green.
Exaggerated steps, deep plié, eyes facing the wings. Clearly not yet plugged into that socket. The dancers’ movements remained slow, controlled, responding to Billy Bultheel’s repetitive electronic score, even as they evolved into tightly-knit collective shapes, hips jutting forward, knees pushed apart in wide second positions, here and there a touch of vogueing. It was as if they were dancing for themselves, oblivious to the watching public.
But halfway through, things changed radically. After a brief blackout, the two women descended from their perches and were carried away by two men. And then the 14 dancers onstage really plugged into the socket. The dance became fast, animated, driven by the insistent beat of the music. Now they were giving a performance, and it was very entertaining, too. The Royal Ballet-trained choreographer threw in a series of tricky entrechats and fast-jumped foot beats, which the dancers executed as they evolved into shifting lines that covered the entire stage. And through the speed of the movement, those coloured costumes created the illusion of sparkling jewels. It was all very clever, and on a personal level, I was relieved to see my expectations were not entirely misplaced.
The second piece from Ballet de Lorraine was A Folia, Portuguese for ‘madness’, choreographed by the Portuguese-born Marco da Silva Ferreira and inspired, or so he tells us, by riotous 15th-century folk parties.
At first, the stage was covered in a dense haze. As it slowly dispersed to crackling sounds, figures became discernible, crawling around. Others ambled in, wearing outlandish clubbing costumes, with a woman in a demure pink chiffon dress appearing to have gone to the wrong party…. Not that it bothered her, though, as she happily blended into the general madness.
A party it was, then, a clubbing night, its initial thumping music suddenly turning into Arcangelo Corelli’s partition Violin Sonata in D minor La Folia, arranged (or maybe we should say seriously distorted) by Luis Pestana.
It gradually turned into a frenzied, orgiastic rave, where dancers showed off individual prowess abetted by urgent vocalisations from the others. The sense was of an urban tribe enacting its own high-octane rituals, as if to exhaust all energy – but these remarkable dancers appeared inexhaustible.
The choreographer describes A Folia as a total celebration of being wild and free, and with that, I can concur. He goes on to state that the piece explores how a massive party can actually change the world. There, I’m not so sure. However, it does provide for a fun, energising performance.
Nancy-based Ballet de Lorraine is a noted exponent of the evolution of contemporary dance in France. Its current director, Maud Le Pladec, envisions the company as “an artistic laboratory” always open to experimentation and boundary-pushing. This programme clearly illustrates the project with all its fascinating highs and lows.
Ballet de Lorraine: Acid Gems and A Folia is at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, 5 – 7 March
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London, SE1 8XX
Check our listings for South Bank and Bankside previews
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