Dates worth pausing for
The 2019-2020 season gets an upgrade at Ballet Vlaanderen. There are special dates to celebrate. The company was set on track 50 years ago by Jeanne Brabants, the grande dame of dance in Flanders/Belgium. An artistically bold woman who did pioneering work.
Often with limited means, but with unstoppable willpower and dedication, she made history. Choreographers from the international circuit were attracted to guide her legacy in the right direction and to develop it in keeping with the times: Valery Panov, Robert Denvers, Kathryn Bennetts, Assis Carreiro and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Meanwhile, the internationally sought-after choreographer from his own region, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, has been leading the company for five years and has entered into a collaborative partnership with Opera Vlaanderen. He creates a repertoire that is not only boundless, but open and generous. Dance that resonates on a large scale and was able to double the number of visitors. Whereas the Royal Ballet of Flanders was originally purely classically oriented, the spectrum was broadened with Kathryn Bennetts. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui explores that course further and interweaves not only culturally diverse references but also a diversity of dance vocabulary. The plurality of movement languages forms the foundation of his programming. Through his international network, he acquires the rights to iconic choreographies. The quality and originality of the founder and of the man who is now in charge should not be questioned, refinement is the trump card. Dance, a passion for both.
Jeanne Brabants <> Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Every choreographer brings about a change of energy in the space. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Jeanne Brabants, two iconic performers who are worth their weight in gold. An evening-length program with work by both results in a creative boost. Music and dance are their fuel and ignition. Tapping into new energy each time. Meeting and challenging yourself and the other. Two consummate artists with their own culture and specific training, which has a cross-pollinating impact. They both belong to the proud caste of dancers who combine very diverse and yet complementary qualities. The music of this double bill also unites two greats: Heinrich Schütz and Johann Sebastian Bach. It is navigating between renaissance and baroque. The magic of encounters across the board.
Cantus Firmus, music J. S. Bach, choreography Jeanne Brabants
50 years ago, the world looked very different. The dance world in Flanders was still in its infancy. Jeanne Brabants opened up an entirely new world. For this choreography, she was inspired by the musical technique of the cantus firmus, of which Bach was an absolute master. John Bogaerts designed the scenography and Mimi Petermans the costumes. A duo that gave the productions at the KNS color and atmosphere at the time. Their work still looks fresh. Bogaerts chose a sober but elegant stage image. An evocation of an organ: two curved pipes with wires stretched between them that can take on various shapes. As for the costumes, the color bursts from the stage. Mimi Petermans designed bright red dresses with bare backs and spreading panels. Two men are dressed in black. The couple dancing the pas de deux, Nancy Osbaldeston and Viktor Banka, in white. The color spectrum is almost the Belgian tricolor.
In comparison with what we see today on a choreographic and dancing level, Cantus Firmus is almost to be called static. Jeanne Brabants, who was trained among other things in German Expressionism and was an admirer of Martha Graham, also colored outside the lines of the classical canon and introduced modern elements into her choreography. Some movements seem Eastern, others evoke aerobics exercises. The duet looks well-behaved, sweet, playful and idyllic. The whole is rather abstract. Jeanne Brabants went for simplicity and formal perfection. Programming 'Cantus Firmus' is a tribute to the origins of the company.
B'Rock Orchestra and sopranos Amaryllis Dieltiens and Alice Foucroulle, altos Margareta Slepakova and Jan Wouters, tenors Tarik Bousselma and Peter De Laurentius and basses Jonathon Adams, Arnout Malfliet, Harry van der Kamp and Pieter Stas under the direction of Bart Naessens provide live accompaniment.
Mea Culpa
Music H. Schütz, Diomedes Cato, Tister Ikomo, Biagio Marini & Kaspy N'Dia, choreography Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui created this choreography in 2006 for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. While he often shows a harmonious world in his work that radiates hope for the future, in this work he focuses on the flip side and is not afraid of controversy, without being shocking. Throughout his oeuvre, it repeatedly emerges that the world is a patchwork of cultures and religions, of people with good and evil natures, of victims and perpetrators. In 'Mea Culpa' he zooms in on 'What legacy have our ancestors left behind?'. The blurring of correlation and causality.
Conceiving a choreography is sailing the seas of reality and imagination. He was inspired by the oratorio 'Die Sieben Worte Jesu Christ am Kreuz' by Heinrich Schütz, an ideal dramaturgical picture. For this reworking, he also brought Congolese musicians on board. They offer a musical response to the music of H. Schütz.
The tension runs high from beginning to end, testifying to tremendous intensity full of mood swings. It is an insane energy that is unleashed. Cherkaoui delved into Belgium's colonial past: division, hierarchy, conquest, exploitation, slavery. It is not a frivolous work. Rather, an open perspective on Belgium's colonial past to stimulate discussion and critical reflection, to confront opinions and ideas with each other.
The performance opens on an empty stage in absolute silence with the Broken Man, embodied by Joseph Kudra. A healthy body writhes in impossible contortions and references a broken body that becomes helpless. As a counterweight, a disabled African girl is projected moving herself forward on crutches. Fascinating and chilling at the same time. Then the performance picks up momentum. The stage image suggests much. In the background an immense scrap heap. Stage right three enormous stacks of books.
Grey and black tones as hard as stone and as soft as a shadow make up the bulk. Men whirl across the stage like leaves falling to the ground in swirling movements by gusts of wind, blown up again and falling back. The ambivalence between the white and dark race is beautifully embodied in the scene 'Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott' by Land lady Drew Jacoby and Daniel Ralph Mfaya, the male servant. What a duet. Inventive and technically virtuosic! The duality is further visualized by Karl Lagerfeld's costumes.
The household staff scrub the floors. The upper class loses itself in decadent parties, men at the service of women and women who have men as playthings in their power and dump them. Cherkaoui creates beautiful images again that are difficult to put into words. Bodies become pieces of furniture. He also introduces African percussion and singing. White men venturing into African rhythms. Cherkaoui moves like a juggler through all milieus and cultures.
A drunken man sways across the stage. Ladies walk their dogs. A man is also fastened to a lash and makes capers to break free again. Cherkaoui masterfully knows how to proportion drama and lightness. There are parlando passages where the dancers walk en pointe, thus establishing the link with classical ballet. Touching points also appear in a whirling waltz.
Each piece is equivalent, a perfect picture of energy and synergy. Images on the back wall show churches and homes with a spacious interior. The poignant discrepancy between the upper class and the locals. The tension between the protagonists is channeled into balance. The overall atmosphere: choreography vibrating on the dance floor, infectious with sparkling accents. Dance full of essential authenticity and worldwide points of contact.
Here too, B'Rock Orchestra and singers provide the soundscape.
The audience was clearly impressed by this indictment and honored the impressive cast with a lengthy standing ovation.
- WHAT: Brabants / Cherkaoui - Cantus Firmus versus Mea Culpa by Ballet Vlaanderen (performance viewed: premiere)
- WHO: Ballet Vlaanderen, B'Rock,
- WHERE & WHEN: Opera Vlaanderen Antwerpen, Sunday 20 October 2019
- PHOTO & FILM FOOTAGE: © Opera Ballet Vlaanderen[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRvTicOHznc[/embed]
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQmxLDADbig[/embed]