Co(te)lette, Danielle Huyghe

Co(te)lette

Written by: Danielle Huyghe. 

I went to Co(te)lette on 28 November 2015, the performance was in CCBerchem, Belgium. The choreographer was Ann van den Broek. The performance was danced by three dancers from the compagnie 'WArd/waRD'In the production Co(te)lette, Ann approaches emotions from a different perspective. Ann searches for other ways to connect elements to the topic: female. During the peformances you can see aspects like: curiousity about needs and urges, satisfaction, euphoria, lust, desire,…

I had been looking forward to see this performance and I really enjoyed it. I knew that this production, was seen as Ann’s masterpiece, she has got several prices for Co(te)lette. She has received positive feedback from the press and that was why I really wanted to see this masterpiece.

Ann has found the concept and choreography for Co(te)lette, on stage you can observe three female dancers cought in a vicious circle between desire en fulfillment.

Arne Van Dongen has composed the music, I found that the music fitted with the movements. Bernie van Velzen standed in for the lighting design. The dancers danced in a white empty space. I found that the lighting plan in combination with the white empty space was artistic, the lights changed in color and that gave just that extra touch.

Co(te)lette portrays all the activities stemming from woman’s needs, both psychical and wordly. There are three female dancers on the stage. For me the mental and physical states the dancers were in, touched my feelings. The dancers danced very precisely, they felt eachother very good. The movements were controlled and synchronised.

The dancers moved in a white empty space on five imaginary islands. Each of the islands conjures a particular mood or atmosphere that influences the movements and the actions of the dancers. I saw 3 characters that moved from imaginary island to island. You can see as a spectator that each island has its own particular state and mood. I saw that in the expression and the movements of the dancers.

The dancers in Co(te)lette are filled with emotions and feelings. You can see that the dancers are at times connected to each other, but sometimes there is no communication between the dancers at all, that is why I think that the performance is more about individuals as opposed to a group.

I liked this production because Ann has zoomed in on the smallest detail of the woman’s emotional life. Ann doesn’t give the spectator the stereotypical image of a woman. I was impressed by Ann’s work, I had been thinking about this production for a long time, I wanted to find out every detail of this masterpiece. That is why I bought the book ‘Protect/Perform’ on the work of Ann Van den Broek. When I read this book I understood every aspect. It is really interesting to understand Ann’s vision and interpretation about Co(te)lette.

 

During the performance the dancers directly faced the public. The dancers were often naked. The nudity was not humiliating for the dancers, it was just something that fitted with the topic. Ann uses every possible aspect that you could think of her work is so precise. The movements were very intensive but the dancers have handle it very well. I find it interesting to see how Ann the physical and mental states of the 3 dancers shows to the public. As a spectator I got sometimes bad feelings towards the dancers. They were sometimes presented in a very negative way. The style of the performance was dance theatre. The dancers weren’t very technical but they had a lot of expression.

I love Ann her style, it's so expressive. The cooperation and the combination of the three dancers was so good.  They complemented each other perfectly. The dancers were credible and confident. Ann had thought a lot about the movements and the concept so the performances was a finished product. The dancers danced with passion and pleasure and they were very professional about their nudity. This production is still fresh in my mind and it will haunt me for a long time. I definitely recommend this performance to all dancers. As watcher you have to be open-minded because as audience you get confronted a lot.  

co(te)lette: 
Date: 28 November 2015
Concept: Ann van den Broek
 Music: Arne Van DongenLight 
composition: Bernie van Velzen
Production: WArd/waRD
Coproduction: Korzo Producties: (Den Haag), CCBerchem (Antwerp)
Dancers: Frauke Mariën, Cecilia Moiso, Sura Dohnke.