Ballet BC have managed to magically push the boundaries of dance yet again. They kicked off their 2015/16 Season with the spectacular “Program 1” last night, which sadly runs only till the 7 of November. The show presents works of world-class choreographers. Stijn Celis’ “Awe”, Crystal Pite’s “Solo Echo” and, Ballet BC resident choreographer, Cayetano Soto’s “Twenty Eight Thousand Waves” are not only visual treats but aural adventures as well. They all blend Ballet and Contemporary Dance together to bolster Ballet BC’s signature efforts of reinventing traditional dance. The pieces meld dance, singing, poetry and visual effects to create a magnificent winter wonderland that stays with you well afterwards.
Ballet BC have managed to magically push the boundaries of dance yet again. They kicked off their 2015/16 Season with the spectacular “Program 1” last night, which sadly runs only till the 7th of November. The show presents works of world-class choreographers. Stijn Celis’ “Awe”, Crystal Pite’s “Solo Echo” and, Ballet BC resident choreographer, Cayetano Soto’s “Twenty Eight Thousand Waves” are not only visual treats but aural adventures as well. They all blend Ballet and Contemporary Dance together to bolster Ballet BC’s signature efforts of reinventing traditional dance. The pieces meld dance, singing, poetry and visual effects to create a magnificent winter wonderland that stays with you well afterwards.
For opening night, the sequence of the pieces was altered from what was stated in the program. The show opened with the high energy “Twenty Eight Thousand Waves”. Cayetano Soto set out to explore life, death and rebirth in this firework of a piece. The female dancers donned ethereal beige, chiffon dress shirts and nude bodysuits. They danced in soft pools of yellow light. The movements were full and rounded. I took this smooth and slow choreography in soft light to signify life. The darkness in the back suggested the constant proximity of death. The dancers delved into some hypnotic partner work here. The lights became harsher and the dark deepened for the part, that I assume, signified death. Here the moves became sharper and gained momentum. An array of sharp spotlights were then lowered closer to the floor of the stage, as the male dancers, in flaring pleated skirts, stood together to perform faster choreography to music that was now string and drum heavy. The ballerinas in their nude bodysuits joined the male dancers to add more depth to the performance. My favourite part in any piece is where, towards the end, all the dancers for the piece come together and have arms and legs poised mid-air, ready for a photograph at any point. That bit was incredibly well done for this piece especially. The end was most recognisably the rebirth. It had the high, wild energy and defiant dancing that you would expect from such a spiritual event.
The costumes cleverly sectioned off life, death and rebirth in the piece. Watching the male dancers dance in skirts is always a gender-bendingly elegant experience for me. Their masculinity was somewhat enhanced by the skirts. It was just brilliant. “Twenty Eight Thousand Waves” was full of energy. It was moving in its audacious hopefulness and joy. An artful portrayal of the journey out of darkness with strength and beauty.
Up next was Belgian-born choreographer, Stijn Celis’ interpretation of some sweet Leonard Cohen poetry. You read that right. Leonard Cohen poetry in a Ballet! In “Awe”, Stijn had the dancers wear 1950s dress shirts and trousers. I could almost imagine them each with a strand of hay clamped between their teeth. The palette of the costumes was muted and earthy. The atmosphere really embodied Cohen’s folksy world. Chor Leoni Men’s Choir sat behind a sheer black curtain to the stage. They sang angelic Latin verses as the dancers introduced themselves to the audience in twos and threes. The choreography in this piece was more Contemporary than Ballet. The live music made it come alive.
Stijn picked three Leonard Cohen poems for Chor Leoni to sing: “Twelve O’clock Chant”, “I Lost My Way” and “The Road is Too Long”. The choir stretched out the vowels in the poems, consequently intensifying their themes of anguish. This anguish was then caught by the dancers who danced with impassioned yearning to find belonging and a sense of home. Seeing the dancers in plainclothes gave this Ballet an incredibly humble feel. This was a Ballet stripped of its eliteness. Stijn’s use of live music made the piece similarly more human and thus doubly touching. His choreography had the dancers dancing off of each other like atoms. At one point the dancers were all on stage, in their different coloured shirts, running towards one another and then away. Visuals like these were fresh and novel. “Awe” transported me to autumnal cornfields, in a rural American state in the fifties, where some youth were lost and broken, and were looking for salvation.
“Solo Echo” was saved for last. When the curtains went up for it, I immediately understood why. A screen now covered the back wall of the stage. On it were graphics of a slow, swirling snowstorm in an ink-black sky. In the program, a poem by Mark Strand called “Lines for Winter”, is printed to describe the piece. The poem is about persevering through difficult circumstances- through the cold and the dark. Crystal Pite’s choreography communicated all these elements. Her moves were unforgettable. There was a solo that started the show, which I believe was Brandon Alley’s, and what a formidable bit of dancing it was. Alley was made of water on that stage. The other dancers joined him soon thereafter. Together the dancers engaged in some wickedly cool choreography. Such as when they stacked up in a line and fell to the floor on their sides, like dominoes or fainting flies. Or when a dancer fell to the ground, as he slipped out of the embrace of another dancer holding him- as if he was suddenly covered in oil. The dancers were all dressed in black for “Solo Echo”. Their long trousers and waistcoats looked formal as hell. So when they performed these innovative new moves in their polished attire, in front of a poetic snowstorm, I felt like I was in a dream. “Solo Echo” was so comforting to watch. It left me with a warm mental blanket with which to go out into the frosty winter night with. Great choice for a finale.
“Program 1” is yet another success for Ballet BC. All the pieces tell inspiring stories about overcoming difficulties to emerge victorious and joyous. The show boasts of path-breaking choreography that takes Ballet to the next level. With the addition of unusual costumes and the musical stylings of a male choir, it has become one of Ballet BC’s more special offerings. “Program 1” is beautiful in that dark, cosy, snow outside, soft light of the fireplace inside kind of way.
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-Prachi Kamble