June 24th, 2009: Johanne Saunier – Erase-e(x)

@abbesses

Of course I remember Johanne Saunier from her days in Rosas, and her emotional farewell tour with them as she was about to leave. Then nothing for a long time, until a few years ago when I saw an earlier version of this show, with only four parts at the time. I liked it enough that I would have gladly signed up to see it again even without the two additional parts.

I like the concept behind this show, even though it’s the execution that really matters. Starting from a sequence Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker gave her, she successively invited others to erase and rewrite it. Which gives rise to a lot of interesting question about who “owns” the whole, but I’m not going there. To me, it’s clear its all Johanne Saunier’s, because she’s the driving force, dancing alone for half the show, and I’m sure she had more input than her choreographying the last part gives her credit for.

Despite this division in parts, it did make a whole, thanks in part to movements going through the show. I’m not sure one phrase or gesture was actually present in some form throughout, more each part quoting a bit from an earlier one, often transformed along the way. Another important part in this continuity was that she would change on the side of the stage instead of retreating backstage. I was told there were many less obvious references to the movie Contempt throughout — less obvious than the soundtrack, sound excerts and quotes — but as I have not seen that movie nor plan to, I can’t say.

Now for the show itself as it unfolded, it started with that original phrase, both instantly identifiable as De Keersmaeker and hard to pinpoint exactly. It seemed like oldish stuff, but also quite rough, like an draft of something more elaborate, a bit like when she introduces a new direction in her work, that she later develop to fruition. After this prologue, the actual first part was credited to the Wooster Group, and looped through an audio excert from that movie, together with its soundtrack. The original gestures were there at times, but no longer flowing, transformed away from pure dance and closer to acting. I liked the way her amplified breathing got heavier and added another disturbance to the process. Nonetheless, it’s the part I like the less.

The second part was credited to Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and with that fast Indian soundtrack switched to pure dance. My favorite part as far as dance itself is concerned, but not by that much. Really good, but maybe it would have felt a little out of place if she had not added a segue into a very different section, far less abstract, to Dolly Parton’s Jolene to boot. The third part, credited to Isabella Soupart, had her joined by Charles François playing a security/bodyguard type, commenting on Saunier’s moves as in a conversation throughout. He was often close to the ground, almost gliding at times, striking poses at others. He kinda steals the show during that part. Almost because Saunier’s part made a powerful contrast, sometimes flowing and changing, sometimes almost still but not quite, with a playful side at the end when she would come closer to him.

After a break, there came the part that had been my favorite in the earlier version, because it involves a nice video setup by Kurt D’Haeseleer — with an choreography assist from Anna Massoni — and the Mulholland Drive OST. I know it’s just a detail, and that there is a better explanation for it, but her donning a blond wig over her dark hair in a part that uses this music sure rings a bell. That setup had a camera mounted on a slowly turning metal arm extended from a kind of satellite dish on a pole, complete with whirring sounds and crackling bursts of light. As she was lying on the ground, her black and white image would appear on a screen higher up, until it fade to a very bright outside sequence showing her and François outside near a road and bridge. Later, as she rose and moved around, came a series of motions with her hand touching the ground that I thought were really great. The slowest part so far, it had left me stunned and wanting more the first time, and this time it worked just as well.

Then there was a kind of break in the continuity, with Anna Massoni and Julie Verbinnen joining her for a part featuring a very cool word based music by Georges Aperghis, with the dance partly credited to Shila. Even with the movements very different, the role of breathing in that part reminded me of the first one, and of course the words about a woman were another thread. I’m not that fond of this one visually, but it’s probably my favorite thing I ever heard from Aperghis.

The final part was at last credited to Johanne Saunier herself, and that’s the one that came close to being my favorite on a pure dance basis. It’s probably just me, but the music reminded me of the Indian one earlier, as if it had been heavily filtered and processed, an effect made stronger by the added tones at the end, exactly like in that earlier part. The dance was very slow and flowing in circles, with the three dancers often moving in sync, but almost as often one would start turning around earlier but the others would catch up by going slightly faster. I loved that, and it didn’t remind me of De Keersmaeker but of Padmini Chettur, and that’s some serious praise coming from me. Then one went into an almost frantic solo before exiting the stage, leaving the other two in slow motion. Finally the other sped up too then left, leaving Saunier alone on stage again, going further back at time went on. That dancer came back on stage, wearing the same costume Saunier had during the prologue, and performed part of that original sequence with Saunier in the back. That closed the loop and marked the end of the show. At least for now. I sure wouldn’t mind another part or two.