Dust, photograph by Dieter Hartwig, courtesy Sophiensaele
Featuring an all male cast, “Dust” is not your usual conceptual dance production for its tantalising amalgamation of hip hop’s creativity with ballet’s rigour. The Tanztage Berlin opener starts off with SAD’s DJ set of a beat-heavy mix with warped samples from “God Only Knows”. Four dancers of different shapes and sizes, all clad in grey sportswear (or simply underwear) enter the room, and it doesn’t take long for the choreography to stun. The first part features a more contemporary dance routine reminiscent of Sylvie Guillem’s later performances; with tippy-toes galore and abrupt and humorous gestures filling the space between the men. The choreographer Roderick George, winner of the Youth America Grand Prix, also stars and constantly shines with his compact body doing brawny high jumps, impossible body turns, and the unexpected flashes of crotch.
In the second half the performance evolves into a more muscular and dramatic affair, following the faster pace of the heavier beats and the dim lights. It allows for more display of personalised moves influenced by hip hop, and more contemplative moments. Yet they continue to challenge each other’s bodies, they pair up, they carry each other across the stage, and switch between synchrony and freestyle in an eye blink. We can hear them panting and we can see them sweating; and it’s this nightclub-esque intimacy paired with muscular choreography that makes “Dust” the smashing opener of this year’s Tanztage Berlin.
Dust, photograph by Dieter Hartwig, courtesy Sophiensaele
The rest of the festival features a varied mix of acts, including myriads of international performers such as the Mexican group Colectivo AM and the Portuguese duo Antonio Onio and Braulio Bandeira. Many of the performers also deal with cultural appropriation, exoticism and postcolonialism – some of the main points of the event’s programme – which raises the question of whether such diversity would be present otherwise. However, at the end of some performances there’s are discussions open to all to talk about dance and related topics.
Text by Will Furtado
The 25th iteration of Tanztage Berlin takes place at Sophiensaele, Berlin, until 17 January 2016
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