July 1st, 2009: Vincent Dunoyer – Sister

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I only knew Vincent Dunoyer as a dancer, and that made me wary of the concept of this show being just too big for a first impression. That was right, unfortunately, in that I would often just get too focused on echoes of the many times I’ve seen Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker work. It was pretty obvious that some familiarity with his own stuff would have helped me see beyond that. So I’m quite sure I missed most of the point.

After a long video showing a dancer repeatedly trying to through a whole sequence, Vincent Dunoyer did a quite good long sequence in silence, going through a lot of familiar movements, but in a somewhat different way. That really brought home how much I was missing, but getting beyong the call of memories was a struggle I just lost.

When Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker herself replaced him, it was quite more of the same, probably more challenging for me, as her presence would only reinforce the memories. The repetition of these movements — video, Dunoyer, De Keersmaeker — did add something, and Dunoyer’s occasional coaching was probably more helpful to me than to her — and the audience was obviously its target. But I still can’t shake the feeling that I missed the point. I stand by my original fear, seeing it again wouldn’t be much better, I would need to see his own work first to have a shot at understanding this one. I just whiffed this time.

June 29th, 2009: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker — The Song

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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?

Pina Bausch is dead

Out of sequence for a change. In a sense, it’s part of the expected loss. But it remains a loss. Not because of the memories and how she’d been a fixture for more than fifteen years. It’s a personal loss because of what would have been and won’t be. Because she died just when I had found a new interest after a few so-so years. At some point I almost stopped going, because it seemed too much of the same, and because there was such a high demand for tickets that I felt I should let someone else go. But the last few shows shaked me out of that line of thought, and that predictability was gone. Maybe familiarity had lulled me into not paying attention enough, anyway Sweet Mambo had emphatically put a stop to that. Too bad it turned out to be her last, on the other hand she left on top as far as I’m concerned.

In small understated ways, she kept giving me reasons to come back for more even when I wasn’t all that much into that particular show, and there have been many times when she brought me more than that, especially most recently. Maybe getting older helped me get a glimpse of the stuff left unshown. My fondest memory over these years remains something she left out, but that was nonetheless very much there for me. It’s definitely not a misunderstanding because I don’t pretend to understand. What was most precious to me then and is now even more so — for reasons totally unrelated to her passing — may very well be something she loathed. No way to know by now, and it never was about that because the point is she brought forth something I care about, and I took that as a way to take what she had done and claim it. Not as in claiming credit, but as acknowledging that some small part of it became a part of me, of who I would be from then on. Not every time, but often enough, and it did add up.

Her death sucks. Not because of the rich yesterdays, but because of the poorer tomorrows.

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

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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.

June 11th, 2009: Wim Vandekeybus – nieuwZwart

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It had been a long time since the last time I saw Wim Vandekeybus, even longer really because that one was the anniversary show putting together bits and pieces of older works. New faces throughout, and these new dancers were probably instrumental in the fresh and energetic feel of this show. Or maybe that break was just what I needed to look at it with fresh eyes instead of seeing what I expected. No video again, and far less storytelling than before. I felt it was more focused on dance itself, even though there was a very strong visual element in the props and lighting.

There was an actor on stage, telling a text by Peter Verhelst that I liked a lot in that it was poetic enough to loosen its relation to the dance, not coloring my perception of it at all. The music was performed from a platform hanging in the back for most of the show, and that part too was done right, feeling connected but never obstrusive.

In the beginning, there was a lot of writhing by the naked dancers with the musicians stopping next to one and basically using them as instruments — as percussions or by their lifting them to change the way the mics picked up their moans. That was not indicative of the rest, as most of the show was fast and intense, apart from a longish spell towards the end when they stood in a line and bumped into each other. Speaking of lines, a section I liked a lot had all of them on the ground in a line, except for one who would use all the width of the stage and at times vault over them.

But for me it wasn’t really about any one time, the thing I liked best was the way the show as a whole stood together as consistent, going through many phases with a sense of purpose. Some of his earlier shows were more obviously narrative, but here that very sense was transferred to the dance itself, movements put together to make a whole show without an explicit story apart from the evolution of the dance itself.

Each dancer had his or her own character, which again came across through dance alone for the most part — apart maybe from the one that played the more hostile element, bumping into another repeatedly, but even that was still dance, if less abstract. I think this cast shows a lot of promise for the next few years with Vandekeybus, as he was able to build a real group while preserving their identities, and all of this without relying on props or words. A very good show, with a lot of things echoing his earlier works, yet different, and possibly showing more confidence in his ability to rely on dance alone as a language. And a totally exciting one from feeling like it’s only the beginning. I hope they will be back soon around here, even though I already know that if they do so next year, it will be in a different place. I don’t mind that, as long as I hear about it before it happens. I’ll be there if I do.

June 10th, 2009: Ea Sola – Le Corps Blanc

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I was eager to see something by Ea Sola, it had been too long. Even though I’ve never completely loved one of her shows, she has a distinct voice and always brings something very interesting. This one was coldly received by the audience, but even though my own take is quite mixed, I liked it overall. Maybe that text was a bit too constraining, too familiar as well, but the relation to the show wasn’t of one piece. At first the dance was related but finding ways of expressing those connections through dance only. In the middle I thought the tone got almost preachy, and that the attack on consumerism through iconic brands fell flat. At the end the dance took some definite distance from the text, and the indirect echoes were working pretty well.

The dance itself was quite diverse, beginning with slow movements often freezing into a pose, broken my almost spasmic fits. Then there were some very interesting interactions, part support and part conflict, with occasional burst of speed and energy. The end was maybe a little too long, but the way one dancer would support and move the other was such a complete break from the rest that I think it worked.

But what I really liked about this show was the complete visual experience. The dancers were behind a milky translucent curtain for a long time, then that came down for the final part. The lighting combined with that expertly, for instance merging the crouching dancers with their shadows for a striking effect, or bringing their half hidden figures into a blurry relief, if that makes sense. Those many moments were what made me like the show, and were compelling enough to take my mind off the words a little more. Especially during the first part, there was no real telling the dance apart from the light, words and music. They made sense together, and that combination was extremely well done. That carried the day for me, and despite my not liking the middle part, I hope I’ll get to see more of her work soon.

June 3rd, 2009: Salia Sanou & Seydou Boro – Poussières de Sang

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I had read that Salia Sanou and Seydou Boro used to work with Mathilde Monnier, but I didn’t remember them, which is not surprising at all as I’m not all that familiar with Monnier’s work to begin with. Nonetheless that biography was enough to make me skip Omar Souleyman’s gig, in the hope that they would speak the language of contemporary dance that I can half understand, yet bring much needed outside elements to the mix. I’m referring less to some traditional stuff I don’t anything about than to a different point of view, just for a different take than say Pina Bausch sometimes postcardish cultural mix or the suburban family dramas that have been cropping up. Nothing against those, but I’m always game for something different, and I hoped they could bring different life experiences and an insider’s view of another culture. That’s a long introduction, but I suspect my experience was colored by these expectations, because that’s pretty much what I got: a familiar language with some “words” I could only guess at. Very interesting for me.

The show started with two dancers standing in the back, slowly supporting/pushing each other in a slow sequence that was both immediately physical and abstract at the same time. That particular combination was in evidence more than a few times, which was a big part of the appeal to me. Recurring patterns had dancers on all fours with another pushing their head down in an almost violent head-banging motion, and at other times dancers lying on their backs with arms stretched up and legs half bent. I didn’t care much for those on their own, but they also grounded the piece in some sense. A sequence I liked a lot was really a background to the action, with a foursome standing against a big pane in the back and supporting each other in turn, a support that was mostly lacking the confrontational element present otherwise. I thought it was mostly tense, with a serious undertone, never made blatant but just there almost throughout. My favorite part had a single dancer on his own in relative darkness, while the rest were moving in sync as a group in the light — I guess this particular theme always is a winner with me.

Throw in some pretty good live music with an impressive vocalist — apart from the final song which was just not my kind of thing, and felt somehow rubbing it in after the eloquent dancing — and that was a pretty good show in my opinion. Funny how perceptions differ: on my way out I overheard people saying they loved how purely physical the show went. For my part, I thought it was very smart for the most part, even a bit too talkative at times if anything. Then again, the non-dance fad may have made people unfamiliar with just how much dance can convey without words. I’m really interested in seeing these choreographers work again, they do bring something personal, yet I think are squarely withing the contemporary dance I know about.