In with the New, in with the Old

Dancers 1It would be logical to start this presentation with something new, something fresh, something that has never been written about before, something like the new choreography of Alexander Ekman, Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar. But why would I do that? And how could I do that when – as far as audience is concerned – this ballet still resides in the womb of  Nederlands Dans Theater’s rehearsal rooms.  

Therefore, I’ll start with something old, enchanting and fascinating like only the work of Sol León and Paul Lightfoot can be. Dancers of Nederlands Dans Theater 2 joined their forces to give a rebirth to Studio 2, this incredible ballet, first put on stage in 2009 for the company’s 50th anniversary. I can only paraphrase the words of De Telegraaf and Trouw that are describing Studio 2’s atmosphere as mysterious and melancholic and León and Lightfoot’s work as, more or less, the cradle of optical illusions and magic effects.

Modern ballet stole my heart after I saw Johan Inger’s choreography Walking Mad. Even though I still hope for this ballet to be back on stage, I’m looking forward to see anything coming from former NDT dancer’s imagination.This time, that anything will be Dream Play, a ballet to Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, an “erotic and sometimes aggressive game in which the six dancers occasionally play rough with the inventive set”. A dance of courage, doubts and desires…

And then Ekman! He is back! This fabulously talented dancer, choreographer, décor designer and filmmaker shined last year with his playful, imaginative, rhythmic work Cacti. I can only hope that Maybe 2 will live up to the expectations of Cacti’s charm.

Sara is the new work of Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar that are working together for the past 7 years. Born in Jerusalem, Eyal danced with Batsheva Dance Company and later on started to make choreographies for the company. Behar has his roots in the modern Israeli music scene. And that’s all I know but less is more so come and check it all out! You will not be disappointed, that’s for sure! Oh, and one more piece of information – the music is not prerecorded, it will be performed by Holland Symfonia.

http://youtu.be/FoNh9qVoVoM

What else can I say… Maybe share this little treat – Nederlands Dans Theater and Den Haag Danst prepared 2×2 tickets (5 April 2013) for those that send an email to this address. The subject should state ‘winactie Den Haag Danst’.

LDT, Spuiplein 150, Thursday 4 April to Saturday 6 April, 8pm until… if only they could dance over and over again! 

* Photo Gustav Udd