BWW Reviews: Nederlands Dans Theatre II

Nederlands Dans Theatre II

By Jennifer Fried

As an emerging dancer entrance into Nederlands Dans Theatre II, the training company for one of the world's leading innovative contemporary is tantamount to an Ivy League acceptance. Having the chance to see the talented young artists perform works by resident choreographers Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, Johan Inger, and Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, reminded me that captivating contemporary choreography stems from using classical technique in innovative forms to convey concepts relevant to a modern audience.

First Johan Inger's I New Then set to music by Van Morrison. The hungry youthful spirit of the evening illuminated the stage as the dancers conveyed the adolescent tension between love and loneliness. The choreography felt earthy, organic, sensual and humorous, reminiscent of a summer afternoon spent frolicking with friends in a park. The success rested in the mixture of classical lines intermixed with pedestrian movement.

Next, Shutters Shut, an introspective, surrealist duet by León Lightfoot set to the words of the Gertrude Stein poem "If I told him: A completed portrait of Picasso." The movement was executed with focused precision, conveying the meaning of the poem with greater exactitude than Stein's words.

Sara, by Israeli choreographers Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, combined movement with music and lights, created specifically for the piece. While strong conceptually in conveying the impersonal nature of our current technological age, the dance felt almost too aloof, trapped in a surrealist subconscious dream that felt too distant.

Finally, Subject to Change, another León Lightfoot masterpiece, clearly demonstrated that ballet is no longer an art form restricted to elite aristocrats for an escape into fantasies, but an art form that conveys the emotions of the masses. The performers use classical lines in expansive ways, dancing as an ensemble, or, at times, as a duet. The whole spectrum of human emotions, ranging from anger, lust and loneliness, appeared on stage with untouchable elegance.

The success of NDT II's performance can be summed up admirably: fresh, talented performers hungry to express their artistry on stage, expressive choreography, and the deliberate use of staging and lights. American contemporary choreographers should pay attention in particular towards these European choreographers. They seem to have mastered musical movement that is the perfect mixture of classical lines and pedestrian movement with the freedom of modern dance, all to convey the rawest of human emotion in inventive forms on stage.

Image Credit: dancetabs.com

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