At first one might think that the title of the Australian Ballet’s contemporary dance program, PRISM, refers to the structure of the work, both in its three separate works and overall. This is undoubtedly, to a large degree, correct. Not only is the program divided into parts, with short breaks, but each work consists of seeming vignettes separated often by a fade to black transition. As a result, in Glass Pieces, the audience applauded part way through the work. The entrancing solo items framed upstage in Blake WorksV (The Barre Project) reminds us that all three works offer windows into glimpsed realities, snapshots that stop short of the full development of narrative or theme. All the time the lithe and resourceful work of young dancers was on display – more so in the experimental works in which bodies can be seen afresh. In the first two works the Opera Australia Orchestra maintained a superb presence which was a delight to hear.
It is also true that the three works represent separate realities. It might seem strange to speak of the representational quality of three very abstract, contemporary works, yet given his history and urban (New York) origin it is hard not to contextualise Glass Pieces (Jerome Robbins). While it might be tempting to see ritual or metaphysical expression in the ensemble based displays of mobile patterns, especially the precise mesmerising upstage procession, the ensemble movements are more ambulatory, down to earth, with mechanical rhythms that belong to first best impressions of a metropolis. Crowds, traffic, high rise – the landmark is imprinted on the movement. Merce Cunningham seems to be in the background – but Glass Pieces is more grounded than Cunningham’s complex modernist swathes. With music by Philip Glass – this 1983 work was a high watermark of classical modern dance.
The work relies on a large cast 24 — there are certainly several well featured and impressive lead paired performances in sharp contrast to ensemble pieces which layer them. However most dancers had to tone down their dancing skills to meld into synchronised formation and reformation of the large group. It was a delicate balance – group vs individual expression – and this work might benefit from additional shows, to warm up its eclectic style.
Stephanie Lake’s Seven Days is second on the program, and it also employs an ensemble, however limited to seven. One can guess at a social vision, but this time the group is in disarray. Nothing gels or flows, or connects. Movements are broken at inception – a romantic gesture gets no further than an awkward touch. The group are stiffly together under the command of a bright large upstage lamp, that goes on and off holding as a structuring devised of the show’s ‘glimpses’. Otherwise, when the lamp is off, there is no social glue. At times the dancers laugh at the hopefulness of their plight – an unassured humour coming from the dark embarrassment of post modern chaos. Fragmentation is all. A most satisfying feature was the use of Bach synced with skilled precision by Peter Brikmanis to movement.
This work could be satisfying overall. It depends on your mood. Its uncompromisingly brittle account of social interaction could equally irritate. It is poles apart from the first work, and continues Lake’s inquiry into experimental form.
If the first two pieces seemed to be entrees, the last Blake Works V (The Barre Project) by William Forsythe, delivered a consummate reach into more universal, graceful, redemptive perspectives. The glimpsed structure still prevails, denying any throughline, but there is a sustained affirmation, however tentative, of something transcendental. If ritual is denied in Glass Pieces, then a ritualist mantra can be observed in the third. The style was tentative – it refuses to become sentimental or traditional. Like the poignant music composition was familiar and yet not. Above all, of all three works, this was this one that engrossed and held attention.
The Australian Ballet’s production of PRISM is playing the Joan Sutherland Theatre until the 15th November 2025.
Production photography by Kate Longley
https://www.australianballet.com.au
