I had been vaguely aware of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker but I had never experienced any of her dance work. Until last night, that is. I put on my new Blu-ray of her remarkable piece “Rain” and I was transported. Ten dancers, 3 of them men, the other 7 women. Music by Steve Reich, “Music for 18 Musicians,” some 70 minutes of it. Non-stop dancing
Some review I had read recently mentioned “Rain” favorably in passing. I checked it out on Amazon, and some of the reviews used words like “revelatory.” Some of the more negative ones objected most of all to the Reich’s music, but that didn’t frighten me off. So, because of a hunch and a whim, I bought it.
The work is here performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. The dancers are wonderful. The look of the piece is wonderful. On the whole the direction of the piece for filming is excellent, although I would have preferred fewer cuts to the musicians.
My first thought, it reminded me of “Dances at a Gathering” by Jerome Robbins, one of the great dance pieces of all time. Of course one big difference is that his is to Chopin, and the individual dance segments within have their own beginnings, middles, and ends while remaining part of a whole. Keersmaeker’s is more of a 3-ring circus, everything going all the time. And it is thrilling.
I also thought of “Glass Pieces” by Robbins to music by (you guessed it) Philip Glass. He’s another modern composer whom I have grown to love. That work is in 3 distinct movements, each one with its own flavor, somehow much more somber in mood than Keersmaeker’s.
And of course, the collected works of choreographer Paul Taylor came to mind. Suggested by both Keersmaeker’s approach, the mood, and the movement.
Here’s a brief snippet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihz71Dg-Z54
And a bit of “Dances at a Gathering”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQvNY9LXZbU
And another bit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=him7RS2kIlo&list=PLUnbjrK_Qmz0pRCqkraZ-bvOwEzv9V61c
A hint: keep on following this link and you can see pretty much the entire ballet, and I wonder if the final movement will bring tears to your eyes as it always does to mine.
And now for some Paul Taylor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHkciz_yYYI
And another little bonbon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxc881tlMxU
Ah, I know now that I’ve got this taste back in my mind I’ll be spending too much time on YouTube! If only I could get it to my TV . . . I'd probably never get up out of that chair!
But to wander back to where I started, Rain” has certainly whetted my appetite for more of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Now if someone would only film one of her latest, to Bach’s Brandenburg . . .
The work is here performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. The dancers are wonderful. The look of the piece is wonderful. On the whole the direction of the piece for filming is excellent, although I would have preferred fewer cuts to the musicians.
My first thought, it reminded me of “Dances at a Gathering” by Jerome Robbins, one of the great dance pieces of all time. Of course one big difference is that his is to Chopin, and the individual dance segments within have their own beginnings, middles, and ends while remaining part of a whole. Keersmaeker’s is more of a 3-ring circus, everything going all the time. And it is thrilling.
I also thought of “Glass Pieces” by Robbins to music by (you guessed it) Philip Glass. He’s another modern composer whom I have grown to love. That work is in 3 distinct movements, each one with its own flavor, somehow much more somber in mood than Keersmaeker’s.
And of course, the collected works of choreographer Paul Taylor came to mind. Suggested by both Keersmaeker’s approach, the mood, and the movement.
Here’s a brief snippet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihz71Dg-Z54
And a bit of “Dances at a Gathering”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQvNY9LXZbU
And another bit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=him7RS2kIlo&list=PLUnbjrK_Qmz0pRCqkraZ-bvOwEzv9V61c
A hint: keep on following this link and you can see pretty much the entire ballet, and I wonder if the final movement will bring tears to your eyes as it always does to mine.
And now for some Paul Taylor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHkciz_yYYI
And another little bonbon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxc881tlMxU
Ah, I know now that I’ve got this taste back in my mind I’ll be spending too much time on YouTube! If only I could get it to my TV . . . I'd probably never get up out of that chair!
But to wander back to where I started, Rain” has certainly whetted my appetite for more of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Now if someone would only film one of her latest, to Bach’s Brandenburg . . .
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