Belgium's brilliant Les Ballets C. de la B. perform Foi, by masterful Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, at the National Arts Centre
April 25, 2003 -
OTTAWA -- Belgium's renowned modern dance company, Les
Ballets C. de la B. bring their newest work, Foi, to the
Theatre of the National Arts Centre on Monday May 12 at 20:30. The
nature of faith is explored onstage by eighteen
dancer/actors/musicians, including a live polyphonic chorus
performing music of the 14th century. Using his own idiosyncratic
dance language, rising young choreographer-dancer Sidi Larbi
Cherkaoui examines myth, legend, and the role of belief in the
stories that are passed on from one generation to the next. The
performers from les Ballets C. de la B. have participated in the
creation of the work, relying heavily on improvisation and their own
personal histories. In the words of creator Cherkaoui, the fusion of
dance, movement, music by Capilla Flamenca, song, and text will
produce a "medieval-contemporary opera".
This performance by Les Ballets C. de la B. is part of the
NAC's Dance Series B, which is sponsored by The New RO Cable
6.
"Once again, Les Ballets C. de la B. convinces, through precise
observation of the mundane, critically increasing gravity and
choreographic imagination in the dance setting."
Braunschweiger Zeitung, September 2000
"This Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui dances like an angel in combinations
that are both spectacular and sensitive...without batting an
eyelid."
De Morgen
Les Ballets C. de la B. (formerly called Les Ballets Contemporains de
la Belgique, a provocative reference to the company's unorthodox
origins and their rejection of the aesthetics of academic ballet) is
a contemporary dance company despite its name. The company was
founded in 1984 by director and choreographer Alain Platel, a
remedial educationalist by training who was filled with an
irrepressible urge to create theatre. Les Ballets C. de la B.
productions testify to a lively social awareness and a remarkable
ability to capture the mood of the day and translate everyday themes
into a uniquely developed theatrical language. The company may surely
be included in the gallery of 'Belgian surrealism,' which
for decades has deliberately confused the distinction between "high"
and "low" art. Their pieces do not represent stories, nor ingeniously
conceived structures of dance. Performances comprise a succession of
snapshots, of simple, almost trivial movements that slide into
fragments of dance, resulting in recognisable small human situations
that are not ridiculed or laboured. Performances are often fragile
things, balancing on the border between nothingness and significance.
Alain Platel brings together professional actors and amateurs
onstage; he seeks performers whose prime quality is that they are
'types', the composition of the company thus becoming a
mirror of contemporary society. After years of cult following, the
company suddenly broke through internationally with Bonjour
Madame in 1993 and were a big success when they performed La
Tristessa Complice at the NAC in 1996. Known now for powerful
theatrical dance performances and a striking cinematic style, the
company has gone on to make international waves.
Les Ballets C. de la B. is a collective of five choreographers,
each with their own appeal and identity. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui is a
young award-winning dancer-choreographer who has been described as
having "the suppleness of a contortionist and the fanaticism of a
flagellant". His varied background includes revues and TV shows,
theatre workshops, sociology, dance history, contemporary dance,
hip-hop, modern jazz, and Broadway dance. This, and his open attitude
to every form of performance, mean that his own choreographic work is
highly personal, theatrical, and eclectic. Sidi Larbi worked on the
creation of Iets op Bach, an internationally successful
production by Les Ballets C. de la B. which toured the world from
1998 to 2001. During this period, he also made Atamé
for the Bal Moderne in Ghent and Afwezen (Fatalidad) for the
Polydancecompany in Kortrijk. He also choreographed a musical for the
Anonymous Society that won major awards in Edinburgh and London. Sidi
Larbi Cherkaoui was choreographic advisor on Ghani Minne's
production Circus Wonder in 2000 and he composed the
choreography for Tower, the latest video clip by An
Pierlé. Foi is his second full choreographic work at
Les Ballets C. de la B., following Rien de Rien (2000), which
has played to rave reviews.
