Der Tagesspiel 08 de MAY de 2005
Der Tagesspiel
Berlin, Germany
08/MAY/2005
By Sandra Luzina
DEBORAH COLKER AT THE WOLFSBURG ?MOVIMENTOS?
Well, so now there is a bondage ballet: Deborah Colker shows with her new choreography, ?Knot?, which had its world premiere at the ?Movimentos? Dance Festival at the Wolfsburg power plant, tie-up games, Brazilian style. Very artistic and esthetic. Vexing but not degrading. And ?Knot? is about desire and control, about the ties of love and their inevitable consequences.
In 1970, Ronald D. Laing, founder of the anti-psychiatry movement, released his book, ?Knots?. In Colker, the ?double bind? is quite solid and palpable. The dancers wield ropes and have studied in depth the techniques of knots, lassoes and tying-ups. Here, no one wants to break free from his or her bonds. The women, least of all. The ballet reminds one of the Eviction from Paradise: the dancers use skin-color leotards, black patches highlight gender.
The man ties the woman’s arms behind her head. Belts are wrapped around the chest and abdomen; a lasso is winded around her feet. But the woman seems to be the one really in control. Bonds and wings: she is lifted by her belt; she swings, dangles and twirls. She flies absentmindedly through the air. The hanging beauty does not remind us of the servile women of the Japanese bondage master Araki, passively delivered to male desire and voyeurism.
Deborah Colker, who has her own dance company in Rio de Janeiro, has remarkable dancers, as was proven that night. The women in particular are stunning: at the same time athletically strong and of phenomenal sensuality. Colker always seeks an uncommon something extra, a sporting challenge. The Berliner audience still remembers her well. With ‘House?, the Brazilian bestowed upon the late Ballet der Komischen Oper her greatest hit. The dancers faced some risky climbing and dance at dizzying heights.
The red string dealt with in ?Knot? is desire. It can never be satisfied or sated, never fulfill itself, and must thus continuously be transformed. That’s why it turns to fetish. From that point, Colker leaps off to moves so bold no German choreographer would dare. It swings between the daring and the sultry. When the theme is domination, we see how women conduct their male partners like puppies on a leash. Or ponies led on halters.
The second part takes place in a transparent box with steps, which turns into a voyeuristic show with extra acrobatic knots. Inside and out, above and below: those inside exercise hard, demanding postures, those outside squeeze voluptuously against the glass. ?Knot? doesn’t show any mortal desire, but rather lively trios and phenomenal quartets. Man hunts man and/or woman embraces woman. Yes, you may - is Deborah Colker’s message.
