Cherkaoui, Assaf and Millepied

with L.A
. Dance Project 3 at Theatre du Chatelet

Review by Henning Høholt.

PARIS/FRANCE: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s choreographic form remind me of Auguste Rodins sculptural world. The difference is that Cherkaoui’s sculptures are never being static, they are allways on their way from one figura/place to the next. I could have called it “Beautiful figures”.

“Harbor Me” by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui‘s ballet “Harbor Me” has a very interesting music,  Woojas Park: “Abyss”/”D`Be A Drift”/”Morphosis” extrait from the album Park Woojae Geomungoit Extension. Who is inspired by a text by Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell: “Would You Harbor Me”. Presented in the programme: extrait from “Safe House, Still Looking” from 1994:

Would you harbor me? Would I harbor you?

Would you harbor me? Would I harbor you?

Would you harbor a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, a heretic, convict or spy?

Would you harbor a runaway woman or child, a poet, a prophet or a king?

Would you harbor an exile or a refugee, a person living with AIDS?

Would you harbor s Tubman, a Garrett, a Truth, a fugutive or a slave?

Would you harbor a Haitian, Korea, or Czech, a lesbian or a gay?

Would you harbor me? Would I harbor you?

Would you harbor me? Would I harbor you?

In this interesting text lays the inspiration background for what we enjoyed in Cherkaoui´s contemporary performance “Harbor me”, world premiere, at the large stage at Theatre du Chatelet with L.A. Dance Project 3
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This contemporary ballet is in 5 (6) parts, with one, two or three beautiful male dancers,  Charlie Hodges, as the leading figure together with Aaron Carr and Morgan Lugo, forming demanding sculptural formations following the very good music for this production, and where also enjoyed a part, where the three dancers were using the famouse ballet with hands, that was deliciouse developed in his cooperation with Ms. Wang in the performance “生长genesiss” by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Yabin Wang that i enjoyed at the Montpellier Festival last year.

What is then the secret, when you enjoy a ballet by Cherkaoi?

For me it is his building up of a developement in the movements that starts in the one end, and where the movement don’t stop before it ends together with the music. That he, and of course his brilliant dancers, mentioned above, can keep the exitement high all the time
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I feel privilliged that I could be present to this part of the perfromance, who was the highlight of the evening.

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II acts for a blind by Ray Assaf

II acts for a blind by Ray Assaf started with the dancers doing some strange movements, that i felt i couldn’t understand. After 10 minutes s speaker entered the stage, and when he introduced the second act, the dancers changed from their Long John underwear like costumes, and the speaker told a history, where the first 10 minutes movements now were being repeated in a more understandable way. But still the movements didn´t showed me more than dance moving. – If this is mr Assafs way of choreographing i must admit that i would be affraid to enter a theatre to see an whole evening ballet by him. But, hopefully, i am wrong.

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HEARTS and ARROWS by Benjamin Millepied

A PARODY ?

The HEARTS and ARROWS ballet by Benjamin Millepied. A “classical ballet” that he, him self, in the programme describes as part no 2 of a 3 ballet work called Gems. Where he tells that he is being inspired by the Jewels by George Balanchine, as we know well from Beautiful performances with the Paris Opera Ballet and from TV – Mezzo. But at the Opera de Paris with first class classical trained dancers, stars, soloists and corps des ballet in the roles.

Therefore this contrasting performance, with the same idea, split up with ensembles, soli, pas de deux and so on, became a parody. And through reading the text, I don´t find any place mentioned that Benjamin Millepied mean that the audience shall see it as a parody?

The eight dancers did their best, but as it looked clear, that they only have the classical morning classes to build on, but still they started with a cklassical basis education, then this didn´t work out on stage, as they couldn´t fill up the stage when it should be classical. Furthermore  in the classical ballet world the arms, which they specially train for exemple in the Port de bras in the morning classes are not good enough.

It looked to me, like what is “usual” for American dancers, when they first time shall dance classical ballet, and not at least specially the Bournonville works, then the arms are wawing around like it is not importent, and in fact, the arms work is extremely importent, underlining the rest of the hard works with legs, body, feets, then the arms can not just fly away in all different directions, just doing something as they want.

. Photo Shayna Batya pour Yatzer” width=”400″ height=”266″ /> Hearts and Arrows – Benjamin Millepied . Photo Shayna Batya pour Yatzer