As an army of macho men, the Dekka Dancers perform the amusing Kill De Bill
Light as a character on the dance stage is a theme in this year’s edition of the annual, one- night-only dance showcase Miniatures, choreographies of young dancers from the National Theatre Ballet. The evening of inspired choreography and dance was presented Tuesday at the Theatre of the Estates.
The evening opens with the gorgeous pas de deux J’Attends, the creation of Zuzana Šimáková (who also dances the lead in the regular season’s Cinderella), danced by Radka Příhodová and Adam Zvonař. Next the curtain rises on Tomáš Červinka seated in candlelight, with English voiceover narration of his book as he reads it. With the entrance of co-creator Viktor Konvalinka, struggle and chaos ensue as the dancers tear at each other in and out of the spotlight. Entitled Humility, its working title is Humilitas lux et tenebrae, or humility, light, and darkness.
Klára Hovorková solos in her own short work, ‘Unik z Reality, and then Mrs Šimáková returns, dancing with Jonáš Dolník in The Space Between Us, her choreography which begins with black-out glimpses of a couple cleverly poised, tossing and turning, in a vertical bed.
The stage is filled with bars of brilliant reflector lamps in Tomáš Červinka’s own Shutdown Agony. The clever use of giant video magnifies the intricate moves of the young dancer curled in a fetal position of motion on the floor. Aside from being an artistic device, the video surely is a benefit to us viewers in the front row “flat seats” (as well as in the back), allowing everyone to participate more fully in the moment. It’s a technique which merits more widespread use in all the classical arts.
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The final piece, Kill De Bill, is the work of Tom Rychetský and Viktor Konvalinka. The longest piece, it degenerates (or redeems itself) from a slow-motion portrayal of brutal, macho war games (backed with gritty gray video of vogueing combat soldiers) into a fluttery, girlie May-day ring dance; and finally into a frantic parody of the Riverdance genre with all the glittery rhinestones and flashy footwork. — oo
– Mary Matz
The post Thursday, January 12, 2012:Miniatures appeared first on Opus Osm.