Shahar Binyamini’s rereading of the Bolero by Ravel is striking and unexpected, but fits surprisingly well with this classic which spans the ages by exploring its dark side. The piece de resistance of a diverse evening, offered by Ballet BC.
The Vancouver company is renowned for its high-level performers. They are all very charismatic, and very lively, in the trio of choreographies presented for a few evenings at the Théâtre Maisonneuve, at the invitation of Danse Danse.
As an introduction, the artistic director of the company Medhi Walerski, also a choreographer, presents two of his creations.
Rather expressionist in its exploration of movement, danced to experimental instrumental music by Joby Talbot focused on percussion and strings, Chamber was created in response to the Rite of Springby Igor Stravinsky, first for Nederland Dans Teater. The parallel between the two works is not necessarily obvious, but the fleeting nature and the sense of urgency that emanate from them could serve as a common thread from one to the other. Statuesque under the lighting giving their skin the color of marble, the group of performers advances, a perfect ensemble which will break down thanks to the lines of outstretched arms and legs; everything will culminate in a sacrificial round. An aura of mystery hovers over the stage, amplified by the chiaroscuro lighting and the rotating panels allowing entrances and exits from the stage – the scenography is particularly successful. A beautiful appetizer which does not, however, succeed in arousing the surges of passion and enthusiasm of the cult work.
Beautifully rendered, the duo Silent Tides attracts more attention. The first part in particular, more ethereal and abstract (original composition by Adrien Cronet), while two solitary souls evolve under the naked lighting of a thin neon tube whose gestures respond like mirrors, without ever first touch each other. By moving from bottom to top, the neon modulates the atmospheres of this piece danced on edge on this premiere evening by Sarah Pippin and Rae Srivastava. Fluidity, precision, freeze-frame: this intimate duo evokes the relationship with others and with oneself. Halfway through, Bach’s violins (Violin Concerto in A minor) fill the space for a more classic pas de deux, but interpreted with grace and sensitivity.
PHOTO MICHAEL SLOBODIAN, PROVIDED BY DANCE DANCE
BOLEROa work which brings together no less than 50 dancers on stage
But it really is the piece de resistance of the evening, BOLEROwhich will leave an impression. Danced to Ravel’s complete work, it surprises with its rhythmic modulations which echo more of its orchestration effects rather than sticking to it literally. The crescendo so unique to this work is enhanced by the hypnotizing ensemble movements. The fact that the company’s performers are accompanied by 30 emerging dancers (École supérieure de ballet du Québec, École de danse contemporain de Montréal, The School of Dance in Ottawa and Arts Umbrella Dance in Vancouver – for a total of 50! ) – gives incredible strength to this creation. And what an experience of a lifetime it must be for these young people to find themselves on a stage surrounded by these incredible performers!
With their tight-fitting black latex pants, and their upper bodies covered with a simple skin-colored jersey, the dancers, inside their black-painted mouths, offer a visually striking picture, amplified by their spidery, contorted movements, tormented. Arranged in a semi-circle, crouching in the shadows, the dancers form an arena where a few performers will advance in turn, solo and in duet, while their shoulders and torsos mark the repetitive cadence. Creatures carried by an increasingly irrepressible momentum, they will soon be gathered at the center of the stage, chaining together particularly successful ensemble movements, synchronized or in canon, in a frenetic outburst, but with surgical precision, somewhere between the dance of death and the exaltation of the senses.
Throughout its 15 minutes, you are glued to your seat, unable to take your eyes off this teeming ensemble moved by a sovereign, insistent force, that of a flow of life impossible to subdue, until the final blow. Powerful and cathartic!
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BOLERO
Maisonneuve TheaterUntil October 5