Thüringer Allgemeine - Culture 06 de JUNE de 1998
Th?ringer Allgemeine - Culture
Weimar, Germany
06/JUNE/1998
By Dr. Ursula Mielke
FLOATING AT THE LIMITS OF THE BODY
Fascinating: Deborah Colker Dance Company of Rio de Janeiro
At the exit of the Viehauktionshalle, a question also lined up together with the spectators, which they might have kept in their minds on the way back home: what was that after all? Ballet or acrobatics? Or even, in case this could be said, could it be a dance of practice session? Be that as it may, it was the performance of Deborah Colker Dance Company of Rio de Janeiro. The question then, if it was the case of a dance theatre, choreographed circus or ballet seems to have no answer.
However, the show Rota is not only comprehensible but also brilliant and breathtaking in its two part format accompanied by a musical collage of classic and modern styles. From a matrix that resembles a dress making or knitting pattern as the scenery of the first act, an interweaving of lines indicates direction. The dancers give themselves with an almost childish enthusiasm to a play that is beyond this world, which leads them to the creation of forms that inspire gymnastics movements. In a perfect performing of the free fall and of an ‘ostinato’ that coalesces gravity and freedom, the artists fly above the stage. They stretch out and retract with elasticity. The body is faced with the limits of its sublimation.
In the first part, the dance company rehearsed as a group of athletes. After the intermission, they came back as circus artists upon a giant metal wheel that fascinated the audience. The dimensions of space acquired, thus, an even heavier weight by means of the imponderability effect. Smoothly and fluently amidst the haze, and splendidly lit, the dancers went around in the universe, making us forget that it existed. Perhaps this is the secret of its enchantment to the audience.
As time demands unfolding and perfection, responsible only for itself in total freedom of action and without social commitments, this dance theatre invites to pure aesthetic pleasure. The dextrous body and the ultimate technique proudly dominate the scene. Here, it is found, in a curious manner, the most evident parallel with the most ordinary day-to-day life. If everything works, everybody is happy. What can not happen is for one to miss the prop and fall from the wheel of life. If it happens, you spring back to a standing position and keep the balance, overcoming gravity.
