Nederlands
Dans Theatre delivered sublime dance that is worthy of a five-star rating
in every way. The company was faultless in their technique and interpretation;
the choreography was breathtaking in its complexity and creativity.
These elements come together in this programme so that the audience
became totally mesmerised by the performance. There were no distractions,
no extraneous or melodramatic moments to interrupt the hypnotic flow
of the overall experience.
In Silent Screen, three dancers appeared in silhouette on
the stage with a projection of the sea on three screens behind them.
As black-and-white oceanic footage played on the screens something incredible
happened: one of the dancers appeared to simply walk into the film and
disappear into the sea. Of course we then realised that there were only
two dancers on stage and the other was an image, seamlessly woven into
the mise en scène by Paul Lightfoot and Sol Léon, who
choregraphed, designed costumes and conceptualised the film. Thematically
the dance referred to the age of black-and-white silent movies where
body language alone conveyed complex emotions and statements about the
human condition. As the dancers performed extraordinary, original dance
moves with detailed precision in front of the projection, we saw man
pitted against a universe of infinite conception. The score by Phillip
Glass, Glassworks (1982), popular with many a choreographer,
worked well in this scenario as its rhythms built, flowed and ebbed
like the images behind the dancers: a seascape, a forest in the snow,
the eye of a child, a return to the sea. It was beautiful imagery and
incredible dancing by the company.
In contrast, Jiri Kylián's work Toss of a Dice
was oppressive and menacing. Named after the title of a poem by Frenchman
Stéphane Mallarmé, it incorporated the notions of chance,
coincidence and ultimately death. The dancers performed under a needle-sharp,
hovering sculpture by Susumu Shingu, and danced to a new composition
by Dirk Haubrich. The company began in a diagonal shaft of light wearing
simple black costumes. They filled the space, repeating phrases of movement
that were at first carefree then became earthbound as the ominous sculpture
hovered nearer to the ground and eventually descended on them. The four
stainless-steel points created interesting lighting effects behind the
dancers as they spun and contorted their bodies in the vast space of
the extended stage. One by one they fell as if annihilated by its power,
except for a lone female dancer who toyed with it momentarily before
succumbing to its force. As in the fist piece, the sense of man in a
vast universe pervaded and struck a chord with the audience who became
mesmerised by the dancing and the hypnotic effect of the chaotically
whirling sculpture.
Over the years this company has consistently delivered imaginative,
evocative and enigmatic dance theatre that touches a human chord in
a way that no other dance company can. Resident choreographer Kylián
has choreographed an astonishing 92 works for the company and is internationally
regarded as being amongst the very best choreographers in contemporary
dance. And the Lightfoot Léon combination, also resident choreographers
for NDT, continue to evolve and inspire, so a double bill featuring
substantial works by these artists was quite a treat for contemporary
dance lovers in Singapore. |
"The dancers are faultless in their technique and interpretation;
the choreography is breathtaking in its complexity and creativity"
Credits
Artistic Director: Anders Hellstrõm
Dancers: Nederlands Dans Theatre I
Silent Screen: Choreographers: Paul Lightfoot
and Sol León, (Lightfoot Léon)
Music: Phillip Glass
Concept film and costumes: Lightfoot Léon
Lighting design: Tom Bevoort
Toss of a Dice:
Choreographer: Jiri Kylián
Music: Dirk Haubrich
Sculpture: Susumu Shingu
Text: Stéphane Mallarmé
Lighting design: Kees Tjebbes
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