Dance Review: Concerto by Lucinda Childs

Concerto  

Technical, Minimal, Abstract

Performed by Introdans on February 17, 2017, Stadstheater Arnhem 

Choreographer: Lucinda Childs Assistant: Ty Boomershine Music: Henryk Mikolaj Górecki - Concerto pour clavecin et cordes opus 40, executed by Elisabeth Chojnacka Costume design: Anne Masset Light design: Dominique Drillot Repetiteur: Diane Matla Dancers: Hayden Idrus, Brooke Newman, Elisa Rudolf, Pascal Schut, Vincenzo Turiano, Angelica Villalon, Alberto Tardanico

Simplicity, repetition, patterns, clarity, rhythm; this is the American choreographer Lucinda Childs, this is Concerto. Childs is well known as ‘the queen of minimal dance’.  She devises a number of movement phrases around a theme and then seeks the possible variation within this framework. Her choreographies look simple and light, but in fact they are creations of complex formations and directions, which pushes the dancers on stage to their extremes.

Normally, Concerto is danced by eight dancers, but this time there were only seven dancers; three women and four gentlemen. The choreography starts with three dancers standing on stage on a white floor and a white curtain in the back. When the music, composed by Henryk Mikolaj Górecki, starts to play, the dancers start with the movement phrase, waving through each other. After a few seconds the other four dancers join them. The movements are fast, technical and rhythmical. With little steps and jumps the dancers float through horizontal and diagonal formations on stage, as a whirlwind without energy, that doesn’t stop for approximately nine minutes.

It’s not that the dancers dance without energy, moreover, this choreography asks a lot of energy from the dancers because of its continuity. The little, almost inconspicuous, changes in directions and formations ask a lot of concentration. Therefore, the dancers perform super clean and show their marvelous technique. With energy, I mean the continuously, not changing, energy of the choreography which made it look more like a constantly repeated exercise on stage, which makes it, energy wise, empty. 

All dancers wear the same costumes; simple, wide black pants, black tops and black socks, which makes it sometimes hard to recognize the dancers on stage, especially when you are sitting on the second balcony, because they look very similar. Not only the way they look is the same, but the way they move as well. The height of their legs and arms are equally in almost every single movement. You are no longer looking to individual dancers on stage, but you are looking to one abstract moving piece. 

Concerto; an abstract choreography with minimal movements, minimal costumes, a minimal décor, minimal music and minimal energy. If you consider to go to the performance, keep in mind that it can be interesting to choose seats at the balcony, because from that perspective you can see the structure and formation of the choreography better.

Concerto is one of the pieces of the performance Monumental by Introdans. Other choreographies of the performance are: Canto Ostinato by Lucinda Childs, Lieder Eines Fahrenden Geselle by Jiřì Kylián and Memory of a Shape by Regina van Berkel. Monumental is touring through the Netherlands. For extra information, locations and dates you can look on the website of Introdans: www.introdans.nl. 

Scapino Ballet with a Spanish  touch.

Performance: Scapino Ballet Rotterdam

Choreographer: Marcos Mauro

Music: Orchestra Sinfonia Rotterdam 

Date: 9th of December 2016

The Scapino Ballet, well known as a big dance company of the city Rotterdam. This company, with a lot of repertoire, dances the piece ‘Pablo’ choreographed by Marcos Mauro, a new large European choreographer.  On the 9^th of December 2016 I watched the performance in the city theatre of Rotterdam, the premiere of Pablo was on 7th of December 2016.   

‘Pablo’ is a piece that combines dance, theatre and live music. This music is played by Orchestra Sinfonia Rotterdam, in an occupancy of up to 24 musicians. Marcos Mauro was inspired by the life of Picasso with a lot of Spanish influence and soul. The performance he made came out like a war movie on stage with great dancers and music, this all with a Spanish vibe in it. 

The Spanish influence was very strong, because of for example the music, costumes and stage settings, for an example they had an old car and motor on stage and the costumes were really Spanish look a like. Beside this it still kept the Scapino style of movement. This style of movement I would describe as technical, impossible looking, rhythmical and very dynamic. They use dynamic in two good ways, in kind of music they use and the way they dance. The way of moving is interesting and unique and keeps your attention. They move unpredictable and keep it fresh. This is mostly because of the dynamic movements, which you can see in ‘Pablo’ as impulsive jerky technical movements.

This time they also chose to put theatre dialogs in the piece which was quiet different in my taste. The dialogs that got added to the piece were in my opinion not that strong. I thought it was not clear what they wanted to perceive with it. Sometimes it looked more like a random thing ought to make a statement, but it did not deliver. Most of the time it gave me the idea that the dialogue was a small reminder of events that took place in the time period of Picasso. I can say that a few of the dialogs had potential to be strong, but were not finished or did not had a clear transition after it.

Everything taken into consideration I found the show mediocre, because of the fascinating movements and the poor theatre. But when somebody asks me if I would recommend this show to family and friends, I would say yes.

Pablo will be play till 8th of March 2017 in Heerlen, the Netherlands.

By: Milan van Ettekoven

Moving futures, Have I been here Before?

Moving Futures festival 2017

Have I been here before

Concept and choreography: Marie Goeminne (and dancers)

Performance: Maaike van de Westeringh, Anne-May de Lijser & Zoé Leduc

Sound design:Alberto Novello

Production: Dansmakers Amsterdam & Artist Collective Kudde

Ligh:t images Eva Gjaltema

seen on 10^th of February 2017, Theater aan de Rijn, Arnehm

‘Life and death go hand in hand, just as life and death are a circle which is naturally repeating itself’

The stage is separated in two  parts by a projection of waving leaves and tiny branches, and a white stage part. One dancer is laying in the right back top of the projected part, while the other two dancers, one standing and the other one lying, are placed on the white part of the stage.  A very strong image is burned upon the audience’ retina when the two dancers perform the aspect of ‘birth’ on the white plane of the stage.  They manage to make the complicated and physical hard work seem effortless and very floating, as if it was natural to be born as a full grown human body.
As the piece develops further, the tree female dancers work towards a high level of energy, which is realized by a circle formed of the performers bodies. They move through space held by their hands and pump up the level of physicality, power, energy and speed, by moving as a circle. After this climax a new chapter seems to start, the chapter of death perhaps? The performance ends with a circle grounding  on the floor. continuously rolling, the tree females seem to refer to birth again, as in the beginning of the performance. From the beginning on, the audience is pulled into their reality, a reality where death is an aspect which can be as much alive as life itself.

The movement language the dancers perform is very much based on the floor, although it’s not the so called contemporary  ‘floorwork’ technique they use. They replace their seemingly empty bodies fluently and rolling in space. One moment you see the tree dancers moving together, but within the next moments they’re all moving as an individual again. These transitions tend to happen so natural and organic that it’s barely noticeable.
The soundscape compliments the whole setting  very well and blends into the whole performance, it’s a tinge of storm, rustling wind and artificial sounds. You seem to forget that it’s present and just take it as a daily, natural appurtenance, just as you tend to forget the chirping of birds during spring and summer.

As a spectator I got completely engaged in the energy which was radiating through the theatre, not in the sense of willing to participate in a kind of very upbeat energy. But in the sense of  being focused only on the piece and what the dancers are performing and having the sense of experiencing the same as what the dancers are experiencing on stage.
Marie Goeminne succeeded very well in pulling the audience into the performance and creating a particular, rather lonely and soft atmosphere.
‘Have I been here before’ shows  the cycle of life and death in a very accessible way combined with a radiating energy and dancers who seem to understand the piece and subject very well.
when leaving the room, you after all suddenly realize again that it was just a created reality and part of night of performances. 

Trailer 'Have I been here before'

Nathalie Vermeiren