Nitin Sawhney, Wang Ramirez, Royal Albert Hall, London, review: It’s the dance collaboration that gives it theatrical impact

Dance duo Honji Wang and Sébastien Ramirez, who have choreographed for Madonna, enthralled the audience at this one-off concert with music by Nitin Sawhney

Honji Wang and Sébastien Ramirez create a thrilling blend of hip hop, contemporary dance and acrobatics

Dance duo Wang Ramirez bring a fierce intensity to Nitin Sawhney’s Royal Albert Hall gig, kicking a laidback evening up by several gears. There’s some fine musicianship from Sawhney and his band, but it’s silken dance moves that give the concert its spark.

Sawhney isn’t new to dance. He’s worked regularly with choreographer Akram Khan, in a career that includes composing, producing and experimenting with many instruments. His work weaves in styles from Indian classical to pop and rap; the musical guest artists for this gig include Soumik Datta, playing the 19-stringed sarod, and singer Joss Stone.

There’s more fusion from Honji Wang and Sébastien Ramirez, who create a thrilling blend of hip hop, contemporary dance and acrobatics. Wang stands in the spotlight, one arm reaching out, as if conjuring Ramirez from the darkness. She’s stark and bold; he’s looser, more casual. Their duets create a shared, glowing tension, full of coiling moves.

When he sits down, a second chair scoots into place for her to sit beside him. Without touching, they reach for and around each other. The dance has a magnetic quality, forces of attraction and repulsion drawing them together or keeping them inches apart.

In another number, they hold hands as their arms ripple, a wave of movement flowing from one body to another. It looks impossibly fluid, a boneless curve, driven on a current of energy that keeps moving even when they break apart. Wang and Ramirez, who have choreographed for Madonna, aren’t new to pop music or huge venues; they held the Royal Albert Hall spellbound.

Sawhney’s own style feels blandest when he’s at his most pop, particularly when he works with Western-style vocals. Joss Stone’s soul singing lacked bite; she’s pleasant rather than gripping. Instrumental numbers showed more of Sawhney’s gift for layering sounds and techniques, whether playing acoustic guitar alongside Datta’s sarod or swapping rhythms with his tabla player, Aref Durvesh.

There were some entrancing vocals from Ashwin Srinivasan and Reena Bhardwaj, voices and instruments curling around each other. Sawhney himself is an easygoing frontman, playing with casual virtuosity and ready to follow his own enthusiasms. He and singer Tina Grace had a wonderful time with the theme tune to the television series Narcos, bringing welcome edge and a touch of Latina style to the evening. There’s a lot of likeable skill in this gig, but it’s the dance collaboration that gives it theatrical impact.