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A remarkable contemporary triple bill fabulously danced – a chance to see resident choreographers from three of the world’s top companies respond to scores from modern-day composers working in very different musical fields. The Orchestra under maestro Daniel Capps played superbly.
The quality of movement throughout was exceptional. Classical ballet technique was taken, deconstructed and reworked, at times quite acrobatically.
First up was the remarkable Obsidian Tear by Wayne McGregor for a cast of nine male dancers.They were mostly bare chested and wore assorted versions of tunic/kilt/baggy pants by disparate designers and curated by Katie Shillingford.
On a minimalist raked wooden stage designed by McGregor himself, with striking, emphatic lighting designed by Lucy Carter, it begins with a fabulous intimate extended pas de deux as performed by Principal Artist Callum Linnane and Corps de Ballet dancer Adam Elmes, one in red, one in black, full of mesmerising sinuous movements. McGregor’s work demands not just creamy, coiled, flowing movement but cat like soft jumps, (occasionally backwards), spinning turns, slips and slides, at times long, stretched arms (or in contrast held close to the body) or otherwise angular elbows ,embraces and stares, and some difficult lifts and runs.
McGregor uses a score by Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, including an extraordinary violin solo by Sulki Yu).
Obsidian Tear looks at the devastating effects our emotions can have on the human body and shows the cruelty and formality of group behaviour. There is an ‘outsider ‘of the group of nine dancers, who confront and circle each other, and a chilling sacrifice. The hints of being gay (queer) raise issues of power and patriarchy.
A thrilling, mesmerising work.
Second was Annealing choreographed by the Australian Ballet’s own Alice Topp with a commissioned score by Australian composer Bryony Marks that begins with pizzicato strings and is rich and complex.
The title of the work describes the process whereby metals are heated below melting point to make them stronger. What one notices (apart from the difficult lifts and sculptural poses at intervals) is the rolling, bubbling choreography and the dynamic patterns of movement – the dancers seem to fly – where we also see jumps and catches and a supported ‘walk’ when a particular dancer is lifted.
The opening pas de deux sees a female dancer in a silver lame costume and white pointe shoes in an incredibly demanding acrobatic pas de deux, where she sits on the male’s shoulder (he is topless with black leggings), and then she is wrapped around his shoulders, followed by 180 degree splits while standing on pointe and then while being held upside down. There is also strong ensemble work.
The surfaces of Kat Chan’s sleek costumes of silver and gold lame catch the reflections of the dramatic lighting by Jon Buswell who also designed the rectangular box like shapes of the set.
Tense and eloquent, Annealing examines the compound of individual creativity and formal ensemble structure, the balance between possible weakness and durability.
Last was Everywhere We Go choreographed by Justin Peck. While it was terrifically performed, sorry, I was perhaps a trifle disappointed. There was a possible Balanchine influence in the choreography. In nine sections, the work was relentless and driven and looking nautical in Janie Taylor’s striped tops, twenty five dancers of the company dance the work with. exactitude and vitality .
The set design by Karl Jensen was a geometrically patterned backdrop that, lit with panache by Brandon Stirling Baker, atmospherically changes with the the mood. Indie singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens’ commissioned score includes sinuous, sometimes repeated undertones and brass and percussion explosive interruptions .
Peck’s choreography included balletic princely runs for the men, entrechats, energetic leaps and lifts, supported pirouettes , arabesque penches, and at times, hand flicks or long stretched arms. Some terrific snappy pas de deux, contrasted with sculptural, folding ones, were included among the complex formations and patterns of the ensemble work.
Quite showbizzy.
Running time allow 2 & 3/4 hours including two intervals
The Australian Ballet in INSTRUMENTS OF DANCE is playing the Sydney Opera House until 26 nNovember 2022.
Featured image : Amy Harris and Adam Bull in ‘Annealing’, one of the three pieces performed by the Australian Ballet in its INSTRUMENTS OF DANCE program. Pics by Daniel Boud