Antwerp, a vibrant epicenter teeming with colorful artists: musicians, singers, actors and considerable dance talent.
Alongside the Koninklijke Balletschool Antwerpen, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Junior Ballet Antwerp is a compelling force not just for the region, but for the entire country and, with further expansion, the world tout court. Let us describe this young, dynamic company with passionate and eager dancers from America, Denmark, France, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Australia, Portugal, England and Belgium as a dedicated masterclass.
Artistic director, Alain Honorez, is constantly seeking choreographers whose style appeals to him and who can provide his dancers with the tools to deepen and develop themselves as artists. For this evening-length production, his choice fell on Andrew McNicol, a British freelance choreographer and artistic associate at the English National Ballet School, and Ihsan Rustem, artistic director of the Swiss dance company Cie. La Ronde and resident choreographer at the NW Dance Project in Portland, Oregon USA. With these guest choreographers, the medium of dance is explored in all its diversity. The audience will see a cross-section of the dancers' versatility at the intersection of classical and contemporary dance. To carve out a place in the professional dance world today, dancers must be multi-skilled and capable of all dance styles.
In consultation with resident choreographer Altea Nuñez, he created exceptional works with these guest choreographers for Junior Ballet Antwerp. The exquisitely crafted and successful classical ballet 'Cinderella' at the Handelsbeurs in Antwerp has only just concluded, and already this young group of dancers eagerly takes the stage with a brand-new triple bill in which they have masterfully appropriated the various dance styles of Andrew McNicol, Ihsan Rustem and Altea Nuñez.
'SIGNATURES' choreography Andrew McNicol
The opening piece of the evening is Andrew McNicol's 'Signatures' set to music by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. It is a brand-new creation for JBA. 'Valses Poetics' is an ode to classical ballet technique, enhanced with a typical McNicol touch: spontaneity, musicality and poetry. Accompanied live by Japanese pianist Emi Morishita. These poetic waltzes contain characteristic elements of a romantic style that closely recalls the piano music of R. Schumann and F. Chopin, full of dynamic processes, a playful, lively tempo like a fast-flowing stream finding its way. Ideal, then, for a spirited choreography with a hint of romanticism.Taking the stage: six girls and three men. Ballet purists will find exactly what they're looking for in this choreography with a variety of pointework, many lifts, jumps, pirouettes very varied in solos, duets and ensemble work.
Classical ballet yet with surprising modern movements incorporated. The elusive magical touch that captivates every audience in one way or another. The six girls are dressed in light, flowing long skirts in warm shades of aubergine, orange, ochre, pink, light brown. The whole effect is fresh as spring. Costume design and execution by Ria Van Looveren & Jolien Deweerdt in collaboration with Andrew McNicol. The lighting design placed the dancers in a warm glow of light and completes the whole picture. Classical precision, grace and imaginative treatment make 'Signatures' a gem.
Dancers: Natsuki Nishiyama, Rinka Matsuura, Tilly Wightman, Josephine Bottger, Soazig Drion, Laura Flügel, Lucas Bierlair, Akihito Shimogata, Daimu Nakayama
© Filip Van Roe
Sigantures Andrew McNicol jba 2023
© Filip Van Roe
Sigantures Andrew McNicol jba 2023
© Filip Van Roe
Sigantures Andrew McNicol jba 2023
'ABSOLUTIO' choreography Altea Nuñez
This choreography, set to music by Hans Zimmer & Klimek (J), is in contrast to the first work dark and oppressive in atmosphere. Again, six female and three male dancers. There is much groundwork to see. In which we find a remarkable contrast between ballet on pointes and neoclassical movement.
Once again an aesthetic jewel that transcends the anecdotal to become relevant dance theatre that touches, that penetrates the pores. The interaction between music and movement is total. From a state of vulnerability, a powerful performance is constructed. The audience sees not a sterile, polished performance, but a fantastic tangle of connections and ideas, captured in music and dance. The poles of light and darkness, confrontation and transformation come into play. In a sublime way, Altea Nuñez guides her dancers and weaves the threads together into a delicate web.
The experience of a character is a search for the essence of the music. The diffuse lighting, a design by Ken Hioco in collaboration with Altea Nuñez, as well as the costume design by Ria Van Looveren complete the picture.
Dancers: Lauren Alving, Ella Matthews, Mafalda Preto, Maria Girardin, Barbara Scott, Nanami Auwerkerken, Lucas Bierlair, Akihito Shimogata, Daimu Nakayama
© Filip Van Roe
Absolutio Altea Nuñez jba 2023
© Filip Van Roe
© Filip Van Roe
Absolutio Altea Nuñez jba 2023
'BOLERO' choreography by Ihsan Rustem
Ihsan Rustem is sometimes described in reviews as a powerhouse. This terminology is not an exaggeration. He created this choreography in 2016 for NW Dansproject in Portland, USA. At JBA, the entire company performs in this choreography.
After the intermission, the audience entering the hall is immediately stimulated aurally by a young girl noisily communicating with someone in the balcony. A boy appears between the sections of the front curtain and instructs her to come urgently on stage. He cannot find the passage and then ostentatiously crawls under the curtain onto the stage. The tone is set immediately.
Ravel's 'Bolero', in a choreography by Maurice Béjart, is almost a modern classic that belongs to collective memory. To create something completely different from it is a challenge for thoroughbred artists. The art is to see and hear, the freshness of a first meeting. Rustem succeeded in this by 200%. What particularly stands out is what a well-stimulated and fundamentally healthy imagination can achieve. Ihsan Rustem has an analytical mind coupled with a synthetic capacity. He approaches the music from a different way of thinking and a different dance style. A choreography is movement seen in the music, lines, structures. He processes this in a visually stunning style. Call it eccentric expressionism in a sparkling language of movement.
With a solid classical education, the dancers of JBA are among the rare performers who master any genre flawlessly without losing themselves. 'Bolero', an intoxicating experience also through Ravel's hypnotic music. JBA offers, as dancing bodies, resistance to the compelling music of Ravel. It is and remains pure magic. One block of concentrated energy and expression.
'Bolero' the most humorous piece of the triple bill, mischievous, exuberant, riotous, brilliant and acrobatic. The choreography playfully makes use of a rose that unexpectedly appears everywhere and is passed around.
At a certain moment, the dancers' bodies are lit up against the white background to draw attention to their geometric lines and shapes. In battle formation, the fifteen dancers of JBA march across the stage. They display a varied emotional spectrum. An intense and unparalleled dance performance of a high artistic level with an unprecedented physical power and expressivity that exudes energy and feeds the audience with the same energy. 'Bolero' simply continues to resonate in your body. The repetitive music drags you along as if in a whirlpool, always more intense and faster. The dancers cling together at the last moment and at the climax note a body is thrown into the air like a puppet, like a cork popping from a champagne bottle, while cries of pure admiration were heard from the audience.
The young dancers received enthusiastic applause which they received with grace. Their command of classical technique and canon in combination with contemporary dance make them a versatile group.
Dancers: Lauren Alving, Nanami Auwerkerken, Josepine Bottger, Soazig Drion, Laura Flügel, Maria Girardin, Rinka Matsuura, Ella Matthews, Natsuki Nishiyama, Mafalda Preto, Barbara Scott, Tilly Wightman, Lucas Bierlair, Daimu Nakayama, Akihito Shimogata
© Filip Van Roe
Bolero Ihsan Rustem jba 2023
© Filip Van Roe
Bolero Ihsan Rustem jba 2023
© Filip Van Roe
Bolero Ihsan Rustem jba 2023
© Filip Van Roe
Bolero Ihsan Rustem jba 2023
This triple bill is a tour de force, a spectacular evening coloured with masterful verve by JBA. We are already looking forward with anticipation to a next performance.
Production: JBA
Choreographers: Andrew McNicol, Altea Nuñez, Ihsan Rustem
Music: Enrique Granados, Hans Zimmer & Klimek, Maurice Ravel
Dancers: Lauren Alving, Nanami Auwerkerken, Josepine Bottger, Soazig Drion, Laura Flügel, Maria Girardin, Rinka Matsuura, Ella Matthews, Natsuki Nishiyama, Mafalda Preto, Barbara Scott, Tilly Wightman, Lucas Bierlair, Daimu Nakayama, Akihito Shimogata