![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Black and White
On Thursday, I went to see Jiri Kylian's Black and White at the Boston Ballet. The piece is actually a suite of five shorter pieces. I loved two of them, liked another two, and really hated one. Overall, though, I was really impressed with Kylian's choreography - it was inventive, fascinating, and anything but boring. The thread that connected all five of the pieces was the use of elaborate Renaissance/Baroque ballgowns as set pieces, rolling on casters, suspended above the dancers, or used as a combination prop/costume for the dancers. Sometimes the use of the gowns was humorous, sometimes surreal, and sometimes completely inscrutable. I'm undecided about how successful the device was.
No More Play - music by Anton Webern
I thought this piece started out a little dull and unfocused, but swiftly became much more interesting. Most of the piece centered on a pas de trois that made use of many interesting lifts and intricate positioning of the dancers that held my attention as if in a vice.
Petite Mort - music by Mozart
This piece was gorgeous. It started out with the men brandishing fencing foils, using them not just in fencing style movements, but also in more abstract ways. The best part of the dance, though, was when the dancers joined into couples and did a series of achingly beautiful pas de deux. The partnering was just amazing, occasionally edging into the erotic while remaining completely elegant.
Sarabande - music by Bach
This was the one piece I hated. While the first two pieces made minimal use of the gowns, in this one, they were a constant and strong presence. The gowns started out on the stage and then were lifted up, revealing the male dancers below. Also, while the program listed the music as a Bach partita, most of the backing to the dance was electronically processed sounds of breathing, yelling, and clapping. This soundtrack got old very quickly. The dance itself was very surreal, as if Kylian had choreographed a particularly odd and mildly disturbing dream. I'm not opposed to surreality, but this just didn't work for me. I especially hated the section where the dancers had their pants around their ankles (they had another layer under the pants, so there was no nudity). I spent the whole piece thinking "what the fuck", and not in a good way.
Falling Angels - music by Steve Reich
I really liked this piece, choreographed for female dancers only. It was spectacularly and subtlely rhythmic. I think I caught some references to African dance that were very well integrated with the balletic movements that dominated. Like the majority of "No More Play", this piece firmly held my interest all the way through.
Sechs Tanze - music by Mozart
This piece was a farcical, funny battle of the sexes. The costumes were reminiscent of 18th century garb, and the comedy was fairly broad. It was light and fluffy, and fun to watch.
No More Play - music by Anton Webern
I thought this piece started out a little dull and unfocused, but swiftly became much more interesting. Most of the piece centered on a pas de trois that made use of many interesting lifts and intricate positioning of the dancers that held my attention as if in a vice.
Petite Mort - music by Mozart
This piece was gorgeous. It started out with the men brandishing fencing foils, using them not just in fencing style movements, but also in more abstract ways. The best part of the dance, though, was when the dancers joined into couples and did a series of achingly beautiful pas de deux. The partnering was just amazing, occasionally edging into the erotic while remaining completely elegant.
Sarabande - music by Bach
This was the one piece I hated. While the first two pieces made minimal use of the gowns, in this one, they were a constant and strong presence. The gowns started out on the stage and then were lifted up, revealing the male dancers below. Also, while the program listed the music as a Bach partita, most of the backing to the dance was electronically processed sounds of breathing, yelling, and clapping. This soundtrack got old very quickly. The dance itself was very surreal, as if Kylian had choreographed a particularly odd and mildly disturbing dream. I'm not opposed to surreality, but this just didn't work for me. I especially hated the section where the dancers had their pants around their ankles (they had another layer under the pants, so there was no nudity). I spent the whole piece thinking "what the fuck", and not in a good way.
Falling Angels - music by Steve Reich
I really liked this piece, choreographed for female dancers only. It was spectacularly and subtlely rhythmic. I think I caught some references to African dance that were very well integrated with the balletic movements that dominated. Like the majority of "No More Play", this piece firmly held my interest all the way through.
Sechs Tanze - music by Mozart
This piece was a farcical, funny battle of the sexes. The costumes were reminiscent of 18th century garb, and the comedy was fairly broad. It was light and fluffy, and fun to watch.