Enya
Inscrit le: 26 Aoû 2005 Messages: 1051
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Posté le: Jeu Oct 16, 2008 6:52 pm Sujet du message: |
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Triple Bill
Nederlands Dans Theater I
The National Grand Theater of China, Beijing
October 14 & 15, 2008
Wings of Wax:
Chor.: Jiri Kylian
Music: Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber: Passacaglia for solo violin (1676)
John Cage: Prelude for Meditation for prepared piano (1946/48 )
Philip Glass: Movement III from String Quartet no.5 (1991)
Johann Sebastian Bach: Variatio no.25, Adagio, in g-minor (arranged for string trio by Dimitri Sitkovetsky), form Goldberg Variationen, BWV988 (1742)
Decor and light: Michael Simon
Costumes: Joke Visser
World Première: 23 January 1997, Lucent Danstheater, Den Haag
Wings of Wax, this title reminds us of ancient Greek mythology, a story of Icarus and his father Daedalus. However, when the performance has been finished, it’s obvious that this work is not aimed at telling us this myth story at all. Like most of the contemporary dances, it’s not narrative but abstractly expressive. Jiri Kylian is merely inspired by this story, and uses perhaps only the metaphors deeply behind it, in order to express the desires of human beings trying to escape from their physical confinement and, to pursue spiritual freedom.
And this is enough.
A bare tree is hanging reversely high above the stage, with its crown downwards and its roots pointing to the sky, and with a big projecteur rotating around it without cease. The ground of the stage then becomes the “sky” reversely, offering the space for 8 dancers (4 danseuses and 4 danseurs), all in black, to present the magic of freedom in terms of physique, spirit and emotion. It is so or not, for me it's not important, dance itself ought to be the focus.
Jiri Kylian used to say, «Je ne crois pas au style. Je crois que bouger avec un certain style vous limite, vous entrave ». But I would rather consider his « no style » already a kind of particular style, his own symbolical style, from his Nuages, Petite mort, Bella figura, Sleepless, Sechs Tanze… to this Wings of Wax. His “no style” is full of musicality, tonalités, varieties, diversities and flexibilities, or simply in one word, expressionism?
If we say that Balanchine always plays with music, Jerome Robins aims to dance in music, then Jiri Kylian is to melt dance with music, like the mixture of water and milk, we don’t need to care about which is water and which is milk, and so is dance and music, is it much different – a piece of visual music, or a piece of audio dance?
Eight dancers are introduced by the violin solo of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, and then in the music of piano by Johan Cage and String Quartet by Philip Glass, with 4 girls as background on the stage, the danseurs present us four variations and a Pas de trois. Then in Bach’s String Trio, four Pas de deux bring us to the ultimate of this performance.
The music leads us all the way to the atmosphere of serenity and tranquility. Steps and movements are lithe, pliable, extensive and tourbillonnant, combining energy, strength, emotion, superb physical control, elegant eccentricity and sensual vulnerability all together. Yet all are executed in feather-like lightness, in liquid ease, in solemn silence and in meditative calm with relaxed breathing and without any aggressive technical traces. All are demonstrated in front of our eyes quietly and absorbingly, and then all intrude gradually into our mind unconsciously…
Oh no, don’t come to an end...
(P.S.: As background information, I summarize the story of Icarus and Daedalus briefly here according to the myth of ancient Greece:
One of the sons of Godfather Zeus and Godmother Hera, Hephaestus God of Fire, he and God of Earth Gaea has a son named Erechtheus who has been raised by God of Wisdom Arthene and later becomes the King of city Athens.
Being Erechtheus’ grandson and Metion’s son, Daedalus is a great artist, carver and architect. Jealous of the wonderful skills and talent of Talos, his sister’s son, Daedalus has killed his nephew and therefore he has been exiled to Minos. The king of Minos accepted Daedalus and asked him to build a residence for the evil monster Minotaur (with a head of cow and body of human being), which is known as the “Labyrinth” (“Laborintus”).
When he became old, Daedalus wanted to escape from Minos and returned to his homeland. Fearing of been blocked by the routes on the land and on the sea, he planned to escape in the air. So he and his young son Icarus started to make huge wings by feathers and wax, and finally they succeeded in hovering in the sky with their wings and on the way home. Too excited, Icarus forgot his father’s words and started to fly higher and higher, till he reached too close to the Sun that the heat of the sun melted the wax on his wings, feathers fell apart, and Icarus dropped into the sea and died.
Daedalus gets his retribution by the death of his son Icarus and by his own talented skills, for having killed his nephew Talos. )
Speak for Yourself:
Chor.: Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach: from Die Kunst der Fuge contrapunctus nr. 19 and nr. 1
Steve Reich: Come out
Decor and costumes: Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon
Lights: Tom Bevoort
World première: 25 November 1999, Lucent Danstheater, Den Haag
It's quite an interesting phenomenon that there are more and more western choreographers to include Chinese elements in their contemporary works, such as Russell Maliphant (in his Broken Fall), Kader Belarbi (in his Entrelacs). After the whole performance, there was a Question & Answer session between NDT’s artistic director Anders Hellstrom, resident choreographer Paul Lightfoot and the spectators. Paul Lightfoot declared that he did find some inspiration from the words of Tao Te Ching (道德经):
“Heaven and earth would come together
And gentle rain fall.
Men would need no more instruction and
All things would take their course.”
(“天地相合,
以降甘露,
民莫之令而自均。”)
Yet inspiration exists just as inspiration, water (rain) was considered to be used in the creation to signify the essence of Taoism, the transformation of chaos and harmony, and the relation of Ying and Yang. No more was connected to Tao Te Ching, but again, it's already enough, and simplicity is sometimes the best way.
Firstly one danseur appears on the stage, stretching, twisting, with smoke coming out from his back and head, accompanied by repeated mechanical sound of “come out show them”. When the music of piano resounds together with mechanical sound, more dancers join him: 3 danseurs enter with their variations separately, then 2 other danseurs join the assemble, finally 3 danseuses come out. All things are ready, all dancers are there in exactly the same grey leotards. The first danseur feels the drizzle falling down to him, he embraces it, and he senses its tenderness. Then the drizzle covers all the dancers, all intoxicated in the fine spray of the rain, what a visual spectacular. We enjoy one by one the stunning Pas de deux and variations in tranquility and in purity in the drizzle: the first Pas de deux, the second Pas de deux, the second male variation, the third Pas de deux, the third male variation, then only the last couple stays on the stage, showing the mystery of heaven, earth and human beings through body languages.
Signing Off:
Chor.: Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon
Music: Philip Glass: from Concerto for violin and orchestra (1987) part I & II
Decor and costumes: Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon
Lights: Tom Bevoort
World première: 5 June 2003, Lucent Danstheater, Den Haag
We have seen many scenarios of signing off, but this one is particularly exceptional – it’s based on real experiences and emotions of the two choreographers Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, when they took their sabbatical in 2003.
After I’ve seen this ballet, and after I’ve read the descriptions of it by its creator, I’ve realized that I have no more and nothing better to say. So share those original words with you, I believe many of us would have the same feelings and would find resonance in them, in a certain period of time, and under a certain occasion.
One man in black, perhaps he is the choreographer; two danseuses in white shorts and blouse, and 3 danseurs in white trousers. Is this the reappearance of the scenario of Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon’s goodbye? Maybe yes, or maybe no, maybe other occasions, this is also not important.
Citation: |
“After creating several ballets per year, for many years, Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon took a sabbatical in 2003. They parted with the moving and impressive Signing Off, which is a heart-rending ballet about saying goodbye, to the ‘Concerto for violin and orchestra’ by Philip Glass. Pure expression and virtuosity, with flashing movements integrated into elegant long lines. The set is part of the cast and provides a terrifyingly beautiful closing image, in which two female dancers are swallowed up by billowing black silk sheets.
There is always a moment when time becomes a texture. Touching this texture is what makes one awake to the necessity of a chance.
The softness and strength of the end become the veil between what we call the past, and the unknown.
This bridge of time became the inspiration of this poem.
And the present became a memory. “ |
Citation: |
“The concept of Signing Off is a very simple one, yet a very profound one. All human beings are in a process of change from the moment we are born until our death and beyond. Signing Off is about transition, about the moment we cross from one state to another. Be it emotional, physical, spiritual or any other form. At the time we created Signing Off (2003), we were ourselves in the point of one of these transitions, after dancing with Nederlands Dans Theater for +/- 18 years, we had chosen to step away from the company as artists, and take time to breathe and feel our next step. The company itself was literally also in a point of change as we searched for a new artistic director, after the stepping down of Jiri Kylian from his position. The ballet itself works on a symbolic level but also on a literal. The stage (a dancer’s home) is becoming smaller and smaller until a decision is made and all its barriers disappear leaving a new path into the unknown. It was made at a momentous time of both Nederlands Dans Theater’s and our own future steps.
Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon “ |
What has impressed me deeply is the homogeneity of the dancers, although they come from many countries, and used to be trained in different dance schools in different countries. It's hard to find out obvious technical or expressional gaps between the dancers, they are almost on the same level, in same style, each one can be boasted as an excellent soloist but can be harmoniously integrated in the assemble, amazing!
Casts, October 14&15 2008:
Wings of Wax:
Aurélie Cayla, Stefan Zeromski
Ema Yuasa, Kenta Kojiri
Virginie Martinat, Lukáš Timulak
Natalia Horecna, Bastien Zorzetto
Speak for Yourself:
Nina Botkay, Shirley Esseboom, Aurélie Cayla
Yvan Dubreuil, Medhi Walerski, Stefan Zeromski, Gerogi Milev, Patrick Marin, Jorge Zozal
Signing Off:
Shirley Esseboom, Karyn Benquet
Stefan Zeromski, Jorge Zozal, Miguel Oliveira, Medhi Walerski
Video Clip:
http://www.chncpa.org/n16/NDT/index.htm
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