Dance Australia – June-July 2017

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The Australian Ballet

FASTER

STATE THEATRE, MELBOURNE

MARCH

Mostoftheeveningwasbotha

celebrationofimpossiblyperfectbodies

andacontributiontoourcurrentfetish

with speed at the cost of all else.•

HEAustralianBalletkickedoffitsseason

withatriplebillentitled“Faster”,

conjuring up visions of frenetic activity,

extremeathleticism,and,potentially,the

wish for “Slower”. Fortunately, speed was

nottheonlyelementonshowinthis

program, though it did remain the

primary concept engaged with, without giving

pausetoreflectwhatisallthisspeedfor?

David Bintley’sFasterwasbyfartheslightest

andleastinnovativeworkinaprogramthat

hardly presented anything in the nature of new

directions in modern ballet for the 21st century.

Choreographedforthe2012LondonOlympics,

Fasteris seen best in that context, providing

good,familyfriendlyentertainment.Bintley

bringstogetheramishmashofhybriddisciplines

underheadingssuchasaerials,fighters,

throwers and synchro, finishing with an

extended running section. The cameos are all

lightlysketchedwithonlythecentrepieceduet

fortheFighters(AkoKondoandAndrew

Killian) attempting anything beyond the surface

pizzazzinitsdrawn-outtakeoninjuryand

recovery.ChengwuGuolitupthestagewith

his spectacular leaps on each appearance.

Squander and Glory,bylocalMelbourne

choreographerTimHarbour,morethanheldits

ownintermsofchoreographicinventiveness.

This is creative and interesting choreography,

boasting a wealth of ideas and a

refreshing emphasis on arms.

Sincemuchofthechoreography

revolvesaroundmovinggroupsof

dancers, sometimes in intricate

counterpoint, sometimes in

synchronized wavelike motion, the

useofamirrorasbackdropwas

particularly effective, multiplying the number of

dancersonstageandaddingtothecomplexity

ofthepatternscreated.Ahologramofa

sculpturereminiscentoftheinfamous“Yellow

Peril” dominates the set, while costumes and

lighting contribute to the overall effect.

Atonestagetheaudienceislitupand

mirrored as well, a clever conceit aiming to

draw audience and performers into the one

entity they can at times ideally become. Here,

though,itstaysatthelevelofaclevergesture,

without engaging deeper layers of audience

complicityascanhappeninPinaBausch’suse

of the device.

Theensembledancedwithgreatprecision

and togetherness, with Jarryd Madden, Leanne

Stojmenov,KevinJacksonandVivienneWong

standingoutinthisandthefollowingInfra.In

general, the demands of these modern “leotard

ballets”suitthetalentsandtrainingofthe

current Australian Ballet dancers very well.

Michael Gordon’s music is relentless and

discordantanddoeslittletoenhancethe

experience of the work.

WhereasSquander and Gloryis mostly about

moving a bodyofdancersaroundthestage,

Wayne McGregor’sInfrais mostly

about duets, two bodies moving

together,reachingforintimacy.

McGregor’s pas de deux

choreography is sophisticated,

creatinggreatshapesandcallingfor

extreme flexibility of limbs and

spinecombinedwithstrength.

Infraisalsoimbuedwithmoresensitivitythanone

is accustomed to seeing in McGregor’s ballets.

Itworksasaseriesofvignettescomposedof

demanding though largely static pas de deux,

with the duet for two women holding the

attentionmostfully.Whileallthedancers

copedsuperblywiththetechnicaldemands,

Robyn Hendricks stood out for infusing her role

with an additional emotional charge.

Towards the end Julian Opie’s group of

walkingfiguresonanLEDscreenabovethe

dancers finally disappear from view leaving the

dancerstodominatethestage.Thewalkers,

caught in the anonymity and isolation of city

life,cantaketheviewer’sattentionawayfrom

thedancingcoupleswhobecomeabackdropfor

the hypnotic monotony of the figures processing

across the screen. Perhaps this is symptomatic of

ourcurrentobsessionwithscreensdistracting us

fromtherealhumanbodiesandsouls

surrounding us.

MaxRichter’smeditativescoreisawelcome

change from the grating minimalist repetitions

of Michael Gordon and the dissonant

relentlessness of Matthew Hindson in the first

twoworks.Richter’smusicallowedemotional

complexities to be hinted at in a piece which

wasatleastreachingforhumanconnection.

This notwithstanding, most of the evening

wasbothacelebrationofimpossiblyperfect

bodies and a contribution to our current fetish

withspeedatthecostofallelse.Itwasalsoa

program which harkened back to the end of

the20thcenturystylistically,raisingthe

question as to where the true innovations of

this century are going to come from. With the

partial exception ofInfrathis is ballet

primarilyasphysicalprowesswhichthe

dancershaveinspades.Butsurelywhat

distinguishes dancers from athletes and

gymnastsisthefactthattheyareartistsabove

andbeyondtheirskill,humanbeingswho

dance before being “very athletic animals”.

• IRINA KUZMINSKY

T

Andrew Killian and

Ako Kondo in Faster.

PHOTO: JEFF BUSBY