This new rendition of Larmes Blanches (White Tears) was finely tuned with the brilliance of its four dancers.
By ORA BRAFMANdance review 88(photo credit: )Israel Festival
Ballet Preljocaj (France)
Sherover Hall
Jerusalem
June 10
Watching Ballet Preljocaj was a sheer pleasure, offering the rare chance to see two early and emblematic choreographies of Angelin Preljocaj that marked the rise of this fine, diversified choreographer.
This new rendition of Larmes Blanches (White Tears) - originally choreographed a quarter of a century ago - was finely tuned with the brilliance of its four dancers, who charged the work with unmistakably contemporary energy and sparkling precision, yet managed to maintain individualistic presence in the stylized, regimented structure.
The music of Stravinsky supplied the rich dramatic grounds for Preljocaj's Noces (Wedding), deriving its inspiration from ancient Pagan wedding rites of Russian farmers. Preljocaj chose to ignore the folkloric elements of the original story and concentrated on the changing encounters among a group of dancers, reflecting passions and fears, commitments and regrets and the deep angers they may evoke.
The dance encompassed a wide range of contradicting emotions, needs and social pressures expressed through bursting kinesthetic dynamics, and this Noces soaked up some folkloric residue which enriched the choreographic lexicon and added yet another layer.
In retrospect, the set of wooden benches and symbolic life-size doll brides tossed in mid-air seemed somewhat dated. Fortunately, the work still contains mounds of choreographic gems that are brilliant and highly relevant today.
A last-minute injury of one of the dancers left four-and-a-half couples onstage, which disrupted the carefully designed spatial structure.
