The question of time—how there never seemed to be enough of it—was brought up by many of the collaborators on 3Seasons, Olivier as well. Since all the dancers were busy with many other commitments, it was a constant struggle to get them in one place long enough not just to learn steps and sequences of movement—which are often very odd, unexpected, and hard to do—but to practice them together, to Olivier’s exacting standards. The curious versions of Baroque dresses some of the dancers wear, strange props, and the tension of the whole new musical aspect of the piece (see future e whims posts), along with the usual jitters of opening night added to a company premiere, all added to the usual pre-performance stress.
I thought rehearsals had shown what the dancers really could do.
But lighting adds magic, and the energy on stage before an audience was phenomenal.
- The scintillating X stasis, with its 5 duets (one of them a funny and oddly affecting pas de deux of Chalnessa with a dressmaker’s dummy), whose final movement is not called “Cardiac Arrest” for nothing.
- FRAGMENTS, which combines a blaze of bravura dancing, a heart-rending and soul-baring solo, and a triple spoof on opera, ballet, and gender stereotypes, all to some of Mozart’s best beloved vocal music—so beloved it needs to be reimagined to really be heard.
And then
the premiere of 3Seasons, a tribute to the strength of this budding company, the dedication and professionalism of its co-creators. Despite crammed rehearsal schedules, many-layered relations between WhimW’Him members, and a shoestring budget, the company has shown a high level of mutual understanding, and an unusual ability to pull together a complex, highly physical program with panache, finish, and a level of civility/ camaraderie one would normally expect only with much more rehearsal and/or a far longer time dancing together.
Up soon:
- a profile of Michael Mazzola and his lighting wizardry
- what changing the music in one of the sections did to 3Seasons on successive nights
- a conversation with costume designer Michael Cepress
- Kim and Adam Bamberg on their new-found talent for photographing dance
- updates with more pictures plus information about the dancers and their current projects…