Schumann - van Manen

[Katharine Kanter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5HkediCcd0

Someone has posted up this piece of rather iffy choreography by Van Manen (well, at least it's not a pastiche of Robbins) which one can watch because of

our friend Schumann (Op. 41 n° 3)

and the dancing, which is pretty amazing.

How Dowell manages to get out that much technique from a bod' that is simply too frail, and not at all built for the rigours of a stage career in this branch of science, is a tribute to his brains and good teaching. The speed, for someone with so little muscular strength ... !

The other dancers are fantastic - bit of a Who's Who of the day.

The girls clearly felt the need for this piece to dance in completely dead shoes, so when they do go up on pointe, they're practically standing barefoot. Might one suggest we watch how they use their feet ? "Transmission osseuse" - straight up and down, no going over the shoe, no pressing back the knee. Gives a wonderful lightness, aerial quality.

Everyone takes the retiré position BELOW the knee. NB.


Could we please all make a Note to Self "I hereby undertake to refrain from all retiré at crotch height in future." Don't know where that fad came in, but it's as useless as it's tasteless.


Contrary to what most teachers and dancers have come to believe (Haul that Leg Up There And Hard-Point that Foot - jambôlâtrie as Mlle Sophie has said), the audience tend to look at the artist's eyes, face, torso and arms - they are seeking for expression.

This particular performance has Little of the Leg and much of expression. But down there, the legs and feet are definitely doin' the job.

[Alexis29]

J'ai dû chercher la signification du mot "iffy", le dictionnaire propose "douteux" et c'est assez ça

Ensuite j'ai pensé au fil qui existe actuellement sur balletcoforum concernant les "ballets that have aged badly", en ce qui me concerne cette chorégraphie de Hans Van Manen est clairement sur la liste.

Enfin je trouve que les retirés très hauts ont clairement une utilité, pour les pirouettes par exemple, on ne peut pas dire qu'ils sont "useless".... mais l'expression "at crotch height" est plutôt marrante.

[Claudia]

Merci d'avoir signalé cette vidéo que j'ai beaucoup appréciée. Pour ma part, je ne trouve pas que cela ait vieilli. On voit, en effet, que la façon de danser a très clairement évolué, comme le relève précisément Mme Kanter.