Memory of a shape

Memory of a shape

Choreographer: Regina van Berkel
Music: Theo Verbey, Fractal Symphony, Philharmonish Staatsorchester Mainz o.l.v Catherine Rüwardt


Memory of a shape 

Choreographer: Regina van Berkel
Music: Theo Verbey, Fractal Symphony, Philharmonish Staatsorchester Mainz o.l.v Catherine Rüwardt 

Costume: Regina van Berkel

Scenery and lighting design: Dietmar Janeck
Costume implementation: Merlijn Koopman 
Coach: Marlena Wolfe 
Duration: 36 minutes 
Premiered: 7 march 2009, Ballet Mainz, Mainz
Introdans premiered: 17 February 2017, Arnhem 


Memory of a Shape, Ballet Mainz

In a lovely Friday evening, Introdans premiered this wonderful work : A story of a moulting bird and the beer promoters.

In general, It's a clean precise work, based on classical ballet technique and the variations of it. We could still see the high legs, beautiful ballet bodies, dancers were presenting academically good clean techniques with beautiful music. How about the other things?

The whole story happened in a white clean space with some pieces of square hanging all around, the very first thing that's moving, a couple danced in the middle of a stage, the girl looked like haven't taken any point class for months, unstable at the point and having a difficult time on lifting her legs.


Something was just missing, compare with the original version of Ballet Mainz, this version is just appeared to be a bit lacking of power in the limbs and clear intention in the movements. It might be a tough piece for them to do, because this somewhere between doing or not doing movement quality is hanging in the whole piece, blurry. Especially in the group work, it could be that dancers were still running after the steps and trying to be on beat, or they just didn't have enough energy to build up this work as in one flow. The connection between one dancer to another was almost all shaped up.

Beside the looking confused movements works in group, there were some surprisingly good solo in this piece, male dancers in this picked finally not a women-lifting machine any more but got some time to show their own qualities.

I personally find the costume choices is not very comforting. First this girl in the opening duet in a white tassel dress looking like bird moulting, losing her feathers. The others who claim out from the side of the stage were just wearing black t-shirt, jeans and the girls in a shiny blue/yellow skirt, under the yellow lights, I couldn't think about anything else but a beer promoter.

In a bigger picture, this piece has quite some beautiful moments at those unexpected transitions when a lot of duets in the space form into a group. Movements was not only focusing on classical ballet straight alignments but also combining curves lines movements and using more the space close to the floor. Lovely job. During this 36 minutes something did develop and build up though was not clear, but it stopped at somewhere about the end, felt like an unfinished work. I would say I felt a bit disappointed, the whole piece with the music has  no obvious dynamics changes, not too boring but not exciting.