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Posts from the ‘Julie Rodeyns’ Category

Oct 27

Still standing you, ampe and garrido

Julie Rodeyns

Still Standing You – Pieter Ampe & Guilherme Garrido (production: Campo)

In the duet “Still standing You”, the Flemish choreographer Pieter Ampe and his Portugese partner Guilherme Garrido constantly try to surpass each other. The result? A very entertaining farce that gives not only a portrait of a friendship but also raises questions about the strengths and limits of the physical body.

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Oct 26

fatboy slim exc.

Julie Rodeyns

We all know we shouldn’t judge people on the first eye, but still to often we do. Spike Jonzes proves us wrong in a video clip for ‘Weapon of choice’ by Fatboy Slim. The American filmmaker introduces us to a business man in tie and costume, sitting in an archair, looking a bit bored. All of a sudden, he starts making little tic mouvements with his head, as if suddenly he fell under some kind of spell. When he next stands up from his chair, he immediately starts dancing to the (…) music in a very confident, energetic and upfront way- facing the camera as much as possible. Soon, he starts taking bigger leaps, dancing his way through the hallways, jumping on a table where he tries out some tapdance moves, .. At the pique of his dance, he jumps from the second floor into the air, sailing to a huge painting in the lobby of the hotel. The painting shows three boats, sailing away under a cristal blue skye. Not only is the guy trough his dancing exploring the physical space (and we with him), he now also takes us to a possible imaginative mental space- away from the dreary interior of the hotel lobby. Just for a short moment tough, because soon enough the guy in a superman-ly way lands back on the floor again. Nevertheless, when he again takes up his initial position, we can never look at him in the same way anymore then we did. Even your everyday grey yuppie guy is not always what he seems like.

Oct 19

mary wigman fabian barba

Julie Rodeyns

The young Ecuadorian dancer and choreographer Fabian Barba is fascinated by the legendary German expressionist dancer Mary Wigman (1886- 1973). As he graduated from the prestigious dance school P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, he already put one of her early solo’s to the stage. For his first evening length piece: ‘Mary Wigman, a dance evening’, he brings a re-enactment of nine short dances. Before the intermission, you see six solos from the cycle ‘Shifting Landscape’ (1929). After the break Barba brings fragments from the works ‘Visions’ (1925- 28) and ‘Celebration’ (1926).From the moment you walk in the theatre, every little detail tends at bringing you back to the first decades of the 20thcentury: fi. the two chandeliers hanging a bit clumsy over our heads and the programmes on every seat, that tell us what to expect once the heavy, red curtains open. That air of nostalgia never disappears, but as soon as Barba appears on stage, you’re immediately put back in the 21st century. Instead of the fierce Mary Wigman, it’s a young boy standing there, in a dress. Don’t expect a tranvestite show however.Barba brings the solos with a seriousness and concentrated dedication that is fascinating and very convincing. He relied on videos, photos and texts and talked with dancers who studied at the Wigman school to recreate these dances. Sometimes their tone is –like the accompanying music- tender and the mouvements soft and fluent, but never unprecise. Other dances have a stronger and more upfront character. Either way, the tempo is much slower then what we usually see on stages today, which allows every single mouvement to be clearly demarcated. Off course the discussion to what degree Barba’s reconstructions are an accurate reproduction of the original pieces (something that is off course never totally possible) is an interesting one. However, it’s this physical control and preciseness in incorporating these solo’s of Mary Wigman that keep ‘A Mary Wigman Dance Evening’ a fascinating performance, even after viewing it for the fourth time.