The Brno National Theatre ballet brought a classic of the twentieth century to Janáček Theatre along with contemporary authors. The staging of three diverse choreographies was on such a level that it proved the competitiveness of the Brno ensemble in the world of contemporary dance.
A dreamy mood, a “classicist” game and visual effect – this can characterize the individual parts of the evening. The connection of the three parts representing different dance approaches is their American origin, which gave name to the evening – Made in the USA.
The first of the three parts is George Balanchine’s work – he is a famous choreographer, from the Mariin Theatre in Petersburg he moved to the famous Parisian ensemble of Sergei Diaghilev and finally he reached New York. He founded a ballet school and an ensemble in New York and he made many choreographies for both. The choreography of the Serenade using Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s music was originally made for his students. Balanchine works there with space, which is almost architectonically filled with the mise-en-scenes of twenty eight dancers. The motion compositions of the individual performances are strictly fixed in the music and they create spatial patterns that gradually change like parts of a puzzle. The Brno study of Serenade reflects the old times, the viewer feels like he was at a ballet performance in New York in 1930s. The overall expression is aided by the method of ballet presentation, the atmosphere of the entire choreography as well as costumes that exactly imitate originals.
The Brno production transfers the joy from the elaborate motion and honours the tradition of neo-classical work. The empty space filled only with blue light allows the individual parts of the choreography, which alternates between ensemble scenes and solo performance, to excel. The lightness of the entire work is also aided by the fact that it is a choreography, which is not burdened by a dramatic story.
In the second part of the evening we travel eighty years forward to the present, when the pointe shoes vanish from the dancers’ feet and in the spirit of modern style they are replaced by socks. A sofa is a silent witness of human stories happening directly before the viewer in theatrical gestures. In the musical part, the piece takes us to the period of classicism, which is represented by velvet dancer clothes, an ancient sofa and the costumes of the two main soloists. Perhaps Mozart’s music or the padded hips of Ivona Jeličková remind the viewer of Jiří Kilián’s work.
Oliver Wevers uses strong expressivities in his choreography, slightly bordering on musical performance. His characters bear emotions, which they transfer through expressive gestures and facial expressions. The props on stage are perfectly researched from all sides and all additional moving and turning of props becomes an inspiration for new plot development. The entire dramatic game of time spent on the sofa ends with the sofa flying away from the stage almost like in ancient theatre.
The cooperation with artists from the contemporary world is always to the benefit of the ensemble. Every famous dance figure brings a new motion repertoire, which further develops the already learned motions and which moves every dancer forward to further interpretation capabilities. Similar to the cooperation with Oliver Wevers, the production of Moses Pendleton’s dance-visual work is a great benefit for the Brno ensemble.
The third part of the evening called Lunar Sea – Noir Blanc brings not only a motion experience, but also an unusual experience oscillating between video art and contemporary dance. Using simple principles of black light theatre with the addition of phosphorous textile and precise motions an imagination of something ethereal and surreal was created.
The dance passage from the repertoire of the MOMIX ensemble also brings an innovative concept of partnership, when both dancers play equal roles and using physical dialogue patterns of their bodies on the stage are created. The illusion of performance is strengthened by a frontal projection, which could, however, be less intensive, and which is sometimes dominant at the expense of the dancers. The entire piece flows along with the music of several contemporary composers in a pulsing pace and attracts the entire viewer’s attention.
Made in the USA is an original view concept of modern and contemporary dance approaches and movement theatre admirers should not miss it. Another composed evening with contemporary dance is being prepared by the Brno ensemble for January.
Made in the USA– Serenade, Sofa, Lunar Sea– Noir Blanc. Choreography: George Balanchine, Olivier Wevers, Moses Pendleton. Ballet of the Brno National Theatre. 29 October 2015, Janáček Theatre, Brno, premiere.
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