Abstract
Three of the most important contemporary choreographic styles come together in this three-part ballet performance, with technically brilliant «Signature Pieces» by Crystal Pite, Wayne McGregor and William Forsythe.
Crystal Pite’s piece Emergence is overwhelming in its collective force. The Canadian choreographer was inspired by the collective behavior of bees and transferred their swarm intelligence onto the creativity of a ballet company as a model. Indeed, the dancers of Ballett Zürich seem to transform into a colony of insects.
The creative combination of dance, science and technology has become the trademark of British choreographer Wayne McGregor. Infra, created in 2008 for London’s Royal Ballet, immerses the audience in the pulsating life of a big city and focuses on the encounters that take place beneath a hectic, vibrant, seemingly anonymous surface. Dancers move through the piece in expressive solos, duets and ensembles to the music of Max Richter. They stand in vivid contrast to animated figures that stride across an LED wall spanning the stage.
As early as the 1970s, William Forsythe revolutionized dance when he completely liberated the human body from the traditional classical ballet scheme. In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, created in 1987 for the Paris Opera Ballet, is regarded as his most successful choreography, as it is the first time that all the elements of his choreographic aesthetic are combined. The ballet thrives on the tremendous dynamics between deceleration and acceleration. Tense, compact bodies push their weight against each other and create explosive discharges as they struggle for balance. Supported by Thom Willems' electronic music, the body's energy is distributed centrifugally throughout the space and the familiar suddenly appears strange and new.