Watching dance online is an advantage, not a concession: BalletBoyz – Deluxe reviewed

Another day in isolation, another bid to find joy in my lone state-sanctioned walk. (Pro tip: stay out longer than is interesting or comfortable to brighten the prospect of another 20-plus hours indoors.) For dance critics, the C-19 crisis and its mass theatre shutdown has triggered some major thumb-twiddling. Like our exercise classes and therapy sessions, it’s time to go digital.

Ballet DVDs and cinema broadcasts have been in the mix for a while, but it’s taken the abolition of live performances to spike serious interest in dance streaming. In the face of indefinite closure, Sadler’s Wells has shifted its programme to the web where possible, starting with a new bill from BalletBoyz, recorded just before the cancellation of the all-male troupe’s 20th-anniversary tour. To lend a sense of occasion, Sadler’s aired the show on Facebook at the time it would have opened in London. I tried to replicate the experience of watching it live by keeping my jeans buckled for the whole event. Routine is a virtue in times of uncertainty.

Deluxe introduces new work from three experimental female choreographers, including Maxine Doyle, who twists some dark lyrics by the poet Kate Tempest into a stylish saga about a night owl named Bradley. The Boyz take turns channelling different incarnations of this enigmatic bruiser, who sports a crumpled suit and a black eye: Bradley as a lush, staggering through a sea of jazz hands; Bradley in paranoia mode, rattling off panicked monologues about dinner. Liam Riddick’s goth spin is a highlight, a fever dream of black lipstick and groovy strutting. Cassie Kinoshi’s brass-heavy score glints with élan, spicing up the mood even as the grind turns dark.

There’s only six of them, but this company’s always had the presence of a bigger group.