Last Updated on July 12, 2026
Two American Dance Companies Share a Bill at the Place
3.0 out of 5.0 starsTwo American contemporary dance companies that use movement as a vehicle to build community, Matthew Westerby Company and Ariel Rivka Dance, shared a bill for a one-off show at The Place entitled Cross Current. It marked the London debut of the former and the latter’s return after a three-year absence.
Both companies are explicit about what they consider their mission and how that transpires in their work. Founded in 2009 and led by the British choreographer Matthew Westerby, who self-describes as “an immigrant, gay man New Yorker”, Matthew Westerby Company aims to engage communities as both participants and audience members, under the banner of “equality, inclusion and human connection.”
Ariel Rivka Dance (ARD) is a female/non-binary contemporary dance company based in New Jersey, led by Artistic Director Ariel Grossman. Founded in 2008, it aims “to create a space for open-hearted movement collaborations rooted in women’s experiences”.
Each contributed three pieces to the 80-minute-long Cross Current programme, half of which caught my fancy, the remaining three not so much.
Unorthodox, by ARD, was danced by four women in stern black costumes and ankle boots (Asia Bonilla, Hana Ginsburg Tirosh, Gabrielle Marino and Casie O’Kane), and choreographed by Ariel Rivka with the dancers to a gripping, very rhythmic score by Stefania de Kennessey. Formed in a line, the women make their way downstage on a diagonal with steps that thump the floor following the 4:4 rhythm of the music. At intervals, one woman peels off from the group and does an individual dance; as strings join percussion in the score, so the sound and movement acquire a quality reminiscent of Greek folk. The movement is interesting: very grounded, it offers freedom while maintaining clear connections between all performers. I found it original and very engaging
City of Ashes (excerpt), from Matthew Westerby Company, was a duet performed by two men in white (Mar Lures-Keller and Jack Murphy) to a fragmented voiceover in which a man recalls coming out just as AIDS was at its most devastating, something which, the voice told us, “stays with you for life”. Choreographed by Matthew Westerby in collaboration with the dancers, it was an intense, very physical piece where sex and death entwined, each embrace containing promise and threat.
City of Ashes was very human, very moving and through its movement spoke directly to your heart. As an excerpt, it left me wishing I could have seen the whole piece.
My third-preferred piece in Cross Current was Nineteeneightyfour, also by Mathew Westerby Dance. Like all pieces in the programme, this, too, was credited to the choreographer in collaboration with the eight performers. Set to an ominous score by John P Hastings, which relied on nerve-grating industrial noise, and costumed in stern grey and black uniforms by Kristin Licata, it was not so much a retelling of George Orwell’s famous dystopian novel about life in a totalitarian state, but rather a distillation of its main theme of oppression of minorities. I found its narrative clear and cohesive, the dancing theatrical and full of intention.
The remaining three pieces were Selves II and The Milk (excerpt) by ARD and Object Trouvé by Matthew Westerby Company.
None of them seemed as tightly knit as the previous three, and to my mind none made its message clear and cogent, with Object Trouvé, in particular, occasionally self-indulgent in its childish hoppity-hops and seemingly improvised individual dancing. I also found the dissociation between music and movement mildly annoying. No matter: if I can misquote Meatloaf, “three out of six ain’t bad.” And the pieces I enjoyed, I really enjoyed.
I do wonder, though, what they’ll make of it all in Rwanda, where the Cross Current tour will end, following a few dates in Madrid.
Cross Current was at The Place on 10 July at 7.30 pm
The Place
17 Duke’s Road
London WC1H 9PY
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