One on One
 by Nederlands Dans Theater 2

Thursday 10 December at Stadstheater Arnhem

NDT2 is touring with a new performance Shearing the Wolves.

A performance with three different pieces: Aureum, Sleight of Hand and One on One.
All choreographed by different choreographers, all really different styles, different stories.

One on One is the last piece, it is danced by six dancers who form three duets.
This pieces is build up in four parts. The three duets and last part, all dancers together on stage.

 

The three duets all have their own story.
One duet is danced close to each other but the dancers do not touch each other.
Other one is danced far from each other and they keep that distance.
Last one is danced close to each other with almost constant touching lifting, being together.

The last part of the piece, when all dancers are on stage, the couples get mixed. Sometimes a dancer is dancing on his own or trios are formed

The piece is guided by live piano music. The pianist is right upstage and he faces the corner downstage.
The dancers are kind off dancing behind his back. The pianist and dancers do not connect with each other, they are in different worlds.

That the music is live played is a nice extra to the piece. Somehow, even though they do not make eye contact, it does give a more clear connection between dance and music, because it is both there on stage.

But I did miss some physical connection between pianist and dancers. It really gave me the feeling that they were not aware of each other. That was good on some level, focus on dance, but there was a musician on stage. He was kind off in the dark and I missed something to drag him into the story of the dancers. The distance, literally and figuratively, between them was too big for me.

Another extra effect is that the stage was covered with little pieces of some kind of foam. It is not clear what it is, something you ask yourself during this performance.
Only the part of the stage were the dancers dance is covered by this foam, the pianist is free of the foam. Another clear separation between the two.

The foam does give some nice effects to the dance. They are rolling around in it, sliding through it.
It makes the stage look softer, warmer. It fits with the duets when they are gently touching. The feeling the foam gives, increases that soft, safe feeling.
But it also bothered me a bit. You never really see the feet of the dancers, it does break the lines sometimes.

But the piece was really beautiful and intimate. You get dragged in the piece and you can dream away.
I highly recommend it!

Choreographer: Johan Inger

Assistant to the choreographer: Nancy Euverink
Music: Franz Schubert: 4 Impromptus, Op.90, D.899: No.1 in C minor
Allegro molto moderato Piano Sonata No.21 in B flat, D960: II. Andante sostenuto
Live pianist: Sepp Grotenhuis (only for performances in the Netherlands)
Light: Tom Visser
Set design: Johan Inger
Costumes: Bregje van Balen