Hope for change; Clear Tears / Troubled Waters

Company Thor – Thierry Smits

Crisis in the West and climate changes, a choreographers vision. Melancholy is the dominant feeling in the beginning of the piece but optimism stays with you when you leave.

A performance about social engagement, aesthetic delight and hope for more room to breathe, that is what Clear Tears / Troubled Waters is about.

I watched the première of this performance on the 8^th of January 2013 in the Hallen van Schaarbeek in Brussels. Clear Tears / Troubled Waters is choreographed by Thierry Smits for his company Thor, the music for this piece was made by the group Tuxedomoon.

Poles hanging from the ceiling, a black backdrop and 7 gasping dancers in simple black costumes, this was the start of the piece. But soon the dancers would develop their movements into a fluent and strong dance, working with each other and around the poles.

The poles were a big contribution to the piece, they had lights in them at the sides which gave the room a very special atmosphere. The poles were the center of the piece while they were hanging there, the dancers seemed hypnotized by the lights and when the poles were getting hoist into the ceiling they went into a very powerful group dance with intertwined duets around and under the poles until they were completely gone.

 The music and the dance were really connected to each other and fit together perfect, duets, solo’s and group work were created in the dance as well as in the music. 

This also helped to bring out the beautiful, strong group feeling even more.

Throughout the performance the dancers would change their black shirts into a dark, but bright, blue one. From the moment they did this their dance got less melancholic and became more hopeful and optimistic. They started repeating phrases from earlier in the performance but there was more lightness in their movements, they stayed together as a group and really seemed to be carried through everything by the music. 

If this wouldn’t have happened I think I will have left the room with much more of a dreary feeling, but the energy that the dancers gave of pierced through the nostalgia and gave me a positive vibe to end the performance with.

If you could find a way to travel back in time then I would sincerely recommend you to watch this performance, it addressed the topic in a different and interesting way and was certainly worth watching. It might even make you think and change your mind about how we treat this problem.