Ballets Jazz Montréal brings the magic of Leonard Cohen's work to thrilling life in the UK premiere of their show

The concept of a dance show set to Leonard Cohen’s music was approved by the man himself when it was first conceived by then artistic director of Ballets Jazz Montréal, Louis Robitaille. The Canadian singer-songwriter requested the inclusion of more recent songs as well as the iconic numbers, so evocative for so many worldwide. The magical mix of physical movement and technical wizardry realised by a supremely imaginative team combines with the dramaturgy and stage direction of Eric Jean and three wonderfully complementary choreographers, Andonis Foniadakis, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Ihsan Rustem. The outstanding dancers too, led by principal artist Yosmell Calderon Mejias, come from backgrounds as eclectic as their names suggest, including Russia, the USA, Brazil, Panama, France and New Zealand, as well as Canada itself.

The dancers felt Cohen’s presence around them onstage, explained artistic director Alexandra Damiani when I spoke to her on JR OutLoud. I felt it too as I was drawn into the total theatre unfolding before me, from the moment we heard Cohen’s voice speaking, rather than singing, as the lights came up lines from his song ‘Prayer for the Messiah’: “His eyes through my eyes shine brighter than love." The 14 performers seem infused with the musician's spirit, passion, deep thought, his eloquence expressing it and, yes, his sexiness.

Clothed mainly in monochrome, the men sport a classic Cohen look – blazer and fedora – with flashes of purple and pink provided by the tunics of some of the female dancers. Their bodies move with a magical fluidity as tableaux form and dissolve. Mood-inducing lighting and clever back projection work seamlessly with the words, music and dancers to evoke and celebrate the bard of Montréal.

A larger-than-life video projection of the man himself, in that ‘famous blue raincoat’ and fedora hovers briefly above the dancers and there are smoke-like wisps and clouds sometimes almost like speech bubbles. The shifting meetings and partings of bodies conjure Cohen's serial encounters. And while male dancers pass female dancers each to other, ‘Dance Me’ itself has the women almost queuing for their turn to dance with just one man.

A powerful stillness is provided when one dancer (Astrid Dangeard) sings ‘So Long Marianne’ as she perches on a chair. The sequence is paired with the singer's last letter to Marianne as she faced death shortly before Cohen himself: “I’m just a little behind you, close enough to take your hand.” This is where I felt many of the audience dissolving into quiet tears, as I was from the start.

If all this sounds entirely melancholy, think again. The clever scenography also includes witty touches as the dancers’ legs are subsumed into typewriter keys and there is even a projection of comically cartoon red lips miming the lyrics of ‘Tower of Song’.

You can feel the evening drawing to a close with ‘Hallelujah’, but how unexpected to hear it sung live and so wistfully, by just two pure, almost choirboy-like female voices (again Dangeard, plus Hannah Kate Galbraith). It coins it anew and I could feel the whole audience leaning into it with me.

After a privileged moment backstage watching the dancers’ cooling-down routine, I was shown out by the stage door keeper. In answer to her query about the show, I told her how beautiful and fulfilling I had found it. “It’s good to leave the theatre feeling full,” she said. I couldn’t agree more.

By Judi Herman

Photos by Rolando Paolo Guerzoni

Dance Me: Music by Leonard Cohen runs until Saturday 11 February & Tuesday 14 February. 7.30pm, 2.30pm (Thu & Sat only), £33.75-£84.38. Sadler’s Wells, EC1R 4TN. sadlerswells.com

Listen to our interview with artistic director Alexandra Damiani on JR OutLoud.