June 29th, 2009: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker — The Song
@théatre de la ville
Wow. I kinda know the drill by now, so I fully expected this show to give some keys into Zeitung, which I’ll be seeing again next season. But still, I’m in awe again. I should know better, it’s usually some sketches introduced in one show, then another one I can’t really relate to, then another one bringing the new direction to fruition, making me want to see the previous couple of shows again, just because I’m now better armed to see what it was about. I may be used to her work, but I’m nowhere near knowing where Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker is heading. The only thing that experience has given me is trust — no small thing in my book — that I’ll figure it out later on. Come to think of it, I’m often no better at making sense of my own act, I’m very often just as late in catching on with my own changes.
Credit were credit is due, even though I don’t what they contributed I have to name Ann Veronice Janssens and Michel François. She did, so I should, my lack of knowledge about exactly what they contributed is irrelevant — remember that trust thing. Had I to take a wild guess, I’d say the former had to do with lights, the latter with sound, but it scarcely matters as I liked both equally and I think I made it clear how little I know — corrections as to their input most welcome.
For a change, I did read about that show beforehand, again because I know whatever she chose to put out may be important. And those references to bird flights may have helped me getting into the early group moves, with dancers moving in and out of formation, as intricate as group moves can get with her, but somehow less formal. It was not my first impression though, because the play with light and darkness was enough, a single dancer coming on stage only to disappear soon as the lights were cut was introduction enough.
Going back to Zeitung, there were again a lot of stumbling-yet-mastered motions, a deliberate blurring of lines I already appreciate even though overstanding remains out of reach. But the most shocking development was the silence. No music most of the time, some Beatles songs performed by dancers at time, with a playful lack of dancing halfway through the one recorded song of the show — Helter Skelter — though that part went into blazing action suddenly yet without a real break in the feel of it, that’s how intense it all was. Silence isn’t exact, because one of them had a mic on and used it to fill that void with small sounds, be it a shoe stomping, ropes whistling through air or bare hands scraping the water covered floor. That was huge to me because De Keersmaeker’s ability to relate the choreography to music had been a big part of my appreciation for her work, and that made it clear it was not as big a part as I thought. In a sense, not having Cynthia Loemij dancing was a bit related, a disappointment and a robbing of a way in for me, but this show was so strong it didn’t matter in the end.
I was probably seated too close to the stage again, but this time I’m not complaining, because those close quarters probably made the intensity of it more immediate. And it was one of the most intense performances I remember; the relative silence actually helpful. I don’t know the names of the dancers, so I can’t credit him properly, but one of the bearded ones was especially amazing from that close, managing to be generous, focused and precise in mock awkwardness in a totally mind-blowing way. Another thing standing out was a group pattern having dancers come in and out into expanding squares, then that pattern was reversed. It did stand out for me because it brought to the fore the geometrical side of her work, bringing yet another dimension to the whole show.
OK, by now it should be clear I’m unable to give a remotely objective review of what went on, so I’m officially throwing in the towel. There are just too many echoes of things I went through in other fields. I assume no one but me will make sense of this, but this foray into silence reminds me of Wittgenstein’s so-called break from logic into language. I never could see that break, TLP and PI do feel totally consistent to me. Same thing here, there might be a break in some aspects, but what I most care about in Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s work carries on unchanged in this new phase — pun intended — and I’m like totally on board to see where this leads to. It might be a dead end for all I know, but the road is what matters to me, and it’s anything but complacent. I have no idea how any of this might be perceived by someone new to her work, but as far as I’m concerned it was huge. I feel just blessed having witnessed so much of her work, she’s been such a major influence for me on several levels. That’s putting it way too mildly, but putting into words what dance means to me is a hopeless endeavor, and I’m all too aware of that fact.
Just bring Cynthia Loemij back, pretty please?
