Dance Dance Innovation

On Saturday, I took in a program of 4 new contemporary dance pieces (Innovation) at the National Ballet. Given the background of the dancers, all the numbers retained strong bases in classical ballet. Jose Navas' Watershed felt naturalistic and free-flowing, with the dancers rarely forming any geometric shapes or lines. Like schools of fish or flocks of birds, they sometimes moved individually, then in small numbers, or all together in one direction or another. Both women and men wore large purple tutus (which caused a few giggles), and combined with the recurring motif of multiple pirouettes, enhanced the feeling of lightness of the piece.

Greta Hodgkinson's solo performance of Guillaume Cote's Being and Nothingness (Part 1) was a favourite. Lit on stage by a hanging lightbulb, she would dance, twist, turn, and manipulate her limbs in quick, fluid movement to the repeating patterns of Phillip Glass. Sometimes it seemed to be a rejection of the light, a surrender, or an acceptance. It was the most overtly contemporary but won over the ballet crowd.

Robert Binet's Unearth had some interesting ideas but was the weakest of the 4. The dancers, identifiable in either gold, white, or blue costumes, represented competing societal interests. Some, with pointed gestures or tapping feet, were happy with the status quo. They and their followers revel in synchronized movements. Others attracted new acolytes by their exuberance and virtuosity (i.e., talent). A third set, at first the weakest, wants to bring change to their society. It went on a little too long (given its ideas) and the simplistic music by Owen Pallett palled quickly.

... black night's bright day ... is James Kudelka's first commission for the National Ballet since he left in 2005. Reflecting the funereal Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), it was a somber reflection on death and mortality. It was the most classical in vocabulary, structure (groups, solos, pas de deux), and narrative. A woman mourned the loss of a loved one; several dancers taken by grim death; a frenetic and futile struggle by modernity (dancers as surgeons) to delay the inevitable. But there were also moments of joy including acceptance at the end, and interludes where a merry fool danced and cavorted to remind us that life goes on. I was spellbound by this wonderful piece.