Review: SESSIONS at Grand Théâtre

The show we will be talking about this weekend is Session, the curious artistic experiment presented this week at the Grand Théâtre by choreographers Colin Dunne and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. The two artists were joined on stage by fellow musicians Michael Gallen and Soumik Datta, to produce one of the most unique shows of the last months. Given how much this event falls out of the normal scope of performances we have been covering in Luxembourg, it feels like the perfect opportunity to kick off our new review format. Our good friends at the Grand Théâtre classified Session as a dance show, given the venue's need to advertise it under a general type of performance, but "artistic experiment" is as far as we risk going in our definition.

For a bit over one hour, the stage was filled with an irreverent mix of music and dance styles, where the process of creation was more important than the actual end result. When you least expected, Dunne and Cherkaoui would produce a mundane or unusual sound, that would turn into a rhythm, that would evolve into a music. From footsteps to zippers, from eight legs tangled on a small couch to tap-dancing on a table. Everything was allowed, every element was a surprise and nothing disappointed.

The gold: The highlight of the evening was precisely the perfect harmony between so many different sources of art. Nothing felt forced at any point of the night, everything either transitioned naturally, evolved organically, or was entangled in an unlikely symbiosis. What made it so enriching was watching it in such different forms of art - music, dance, comedy and even acting.

The silver: The Irishness. The sarcastic Irish song at the end, sang by all four performers, was one of the most enjoyable moments of the night. It was, however, only one of several elements associated with Ireland, from music styles to tap dancing, showing both how diverse this performance was and how rich and inclusive Irish culture can be.

The bronze: The versatility. Even if only two of the four performers were dancers, the range of things done by everyone on stage was uncanny. One minute you are twisting yourself from head to toe, next thing you know you are playing with instruments only a handful of people in the audience knew existed.

Ideas? It is hard to make any suggestion when seeing something so diverse and widely unique. But here is something to think about - how well would a show like this work with an overlaying narrative? Not everything has to be a story, nor have an explicit message in itself, but given how diverse Sessions was, perhaps a conducting narrative, even if abstract, would add even one more dimension to the performance?

To reach out to the writer: nuno.de.sousa.lopes@gmail.com

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