Radical moves
Giannandrea Poesio
Nederland Dans Theater 2 Sadler's Wells Theatre
Those who love Jiri Kylian for his distinctively fluid choreography might find 27'52" a little shocking. The 2002 creation shows a radical departure from the formulae that have made Kylian internationally renowned and which inform some of his most celebrated creations, such as Les Noces, Symphony of Psalms, Sinfonietta. Whether such a drastic stylistic change, symptoms of which were obvious in recent creations, is good or bad, is difficult to say. The intense, almost cerebral work that informs the whole creation, set to a new Gustav Mahler-inspired composition by Dirk Haubrick, results in a mentally demanding, though engaging cultural interplay with the audience. The fragmented dance action, interspersed with purely pedestrian solutions, sustained pauses, and an intriguing use of the dance floor's lino sheets, at first surprises the viewers by challenging their assumptions about what a dance performance should be.
Not unlike William Forsythe, arguably the first dance-maker to have questioned the notion of a ballet/dance performance and its single components, Kylian opts for an 'open beginning' with the dancers already on stage while the audience flocks in. By the time the lights finally go down the action is already well under way. Yet it is a slow progress that suffers from a reiterated exploitation of the artistic ingredients mentioned above. Twenty-seven min utes and 52 seconds of dancing (as in the title of the work) can become tedious once the dance runs short of good ideas. A programme note insists on the importance of the contrast between the huge amount of time needed to create, complete and polish the work in question and the brevity of its own execution; yet what should come across as ephemerally short, looks, in the end, a hundred times longer and not so ephemeral. This is a pity, for there are some undeniable moments of pure choreographic genius and sense of theatre, as a look at the now frantic, now lyrical way the dancing bodies move and interact demonstrates.
Luckily such a heavyweight came first the night I went; I would have dreaded the idea of seeing it as the last item on the programme. As it was, it created a splendid contrast to the following dance, arguably the most enthralling of the whole evening, Shutters Shut. Among the few dance works set to Gertrude Stein's unique poems and writings, this work, signed by Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, stands out for the unique way it recreates the verbal effect of the problem with movement. Fast, repetitive and almost mechanical gestures that build up to an hysterical crescendo are the core elements of this brief duet, which follows the fire-cracking rhythms and phrasing of the poem 'If I told him: A completed portrait of Picasso'. Movements are minimal and restricted and the various poses evoke all sorts of images, ranging from Art Deco figurines to postmodern icons. This work displays inventiveness and it brought the house down.
It was unfortunate that it was followed, and not preceded, by the more soft-toned, yet splendidly theatrical Subject to Change by the same choreographic duo. Set to Gustav Mahler's string orchestra arrangement of Schubert's celebrated Andante con moto from Death and the Maiden, this dance, too, like Kylidn's opening piece, revolves around an intriguing use of a carpet, used as a cocoon, a barrier, a concealing/protective device. Had it not been for the lingering fizz of the previous dance, the subtle, now lyrical, now dramatic nuances of Subject to Change, would have come across more clearly. The evening concluded with Ohad Naharin's 1999 Minus 16, which has already been seen in London. Naharin also opts for an 'open beginning', with a single dancer moving to catchy disco/ballroom tunes on the stage during the interval. Soon other dancers join in what becomes a now violent, now comic series of situations that include a hilarious dance with selected members of the public. Personally, I found the audience participation a bit trite, but a young friend of mine thought the whole thing was simply 'fah'. Generational differences apart, what was truly lab', in my view, was the company, for I have seldom seen such a refreshingly exciting group of young artists.
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