Reading through the dance program for the Adelaide Festival it’s hard not to feel jealous of the lucky residents who have this feast of dance presented at home. For those of you who live further afield you may want to start making travel plans.
Headlining the dance program is Sylvie Guillem, in “6000 miles away”, a series of three works by William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian and Mats Ek respectively. 6000 miles away is the latest in a series of collaborations where Guillem explores areas of contemporary dance. As the production was in rehearsal during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Guillem named the production 6000 miles away as a mark of respect and sympathy.
Both Forsythe and Ek have choreographed new works for Guillem. Forsythe’s offering is Rearray, a duet for Guillem and Massimo Murru, to music by David Morrow. Ek has choreographed Bye, an intimate solo piece in which Guillem interacts with live video and an interpretation of Beethoven’s last piano sonata by the Croatian pianist Ivo Pogorelich.
Jiri Kylian’s 27’52” will open the program, performed by former dancers from Nederlands Dans Theater, Vaclav Kunes and Natasa Novotna.
For fans of flamenco dance, Flamenco Hoy arrives in Adelaide fresh from a Canadian tour. Flamenco Hoy is the first live work directed by Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura, who is famous for his trilogy of dance movies Blood Wedding, Carmen and El Amor Brujo. In Flamenco Hoy, the multi-award winning director uses his cinematic eye to powerful effect on the stage.
With choreography from Rafael Estevez and Nani Panos Flamenco Hoy brings together the next generation of young Spanish flamenco artists in a showcase of dance, music and song – connecting the traditional world of flamenco to contemporary dance, ballet and jazz.
Next on the agenda is Wim Vandekeybus’s seminal work, What the Body Does Not Remember. A work that launched Vandekeybus and his company, Ultima Vez 25 years ago, What the Body Does Not Remember defined a new style of dance based on strength, speed and risk. Involving choreography that requires precise technique and timing, the show focuses on the moment before an accident occurs, the tiny fraction of time where decisions are made for you and instinct controls your movement. This will be Ultima Vez’s first visit to Australia.
From Canada comes Louise Lecavalier, former star of Edouard Lock’s ensemble La La La Human Steps. Lecavalier brings a double bill, Children and A Few Minutes of Lock, two collaborative works created with Lock and the late British choreographer, Nigel Charnock.
Children is a duet, created with Charnock and performed with Patrick Lamothe, Children explores the love, the hate, the violence and the passion of two people struggling to stay together for the sake of the kids.
Set to the music of Iggy Pop, A Few Minutes of Lock features excerpts from Lecavalier’s 18-year career with Lock and La La La Human Steps. In a passionate conversation between the dancers’ bodies, Lecavalier returns to Lock’s challenging choreography in a new context alongside Keir Knight and Lamothe.
Australian choreographer Larissa McGowan will present her first fill-length dance work at the Adelaide Festival. Entitled Skeleton, the work is directed by Sam Haren (the Border Project) and was inspired by the work of Australian artist Ricky Swallow.
Skeleton explores the way different human bodies interact with objects they have previously experienced. The bone-like replica objects with which the dancers interact are familiar items from popular culture - a t-shirt, stiletto shoe, BMX bike and skateboard. In a jigsaw style reconstruction, bodies and the objects are constantly fitted together and pulled apart revealing the influence they have on each other. The choreography is a reconstruction of the memories each performer has of each object. Meeting surprising and violent ends, bodies and objects collide via a sinister vanishing screen that gives the performance a dreamlike cut and paste feel.
Flamenco Hoy
Tobia Booth-Remmers, Lisa Griffiths and Marcus Louend in Skeleton. Photo: Chris Herzfeld/Camlight Productions.
Keir Knight and Louise Lecavalier in A Few Minutes of Lock. Photo: Massimo Chiarradia.
What the Body Does Not Remember. Photo: Ocatvio Iturbe.