We were graciously given tickets to this highly technical and unusual ballet production by their promotions company and attended yesterday evening.Alex couldn't be dragged out when he found out it was the ballet so I brought a good friend of mine who has a huge appreciation for the arts. I wish I could say we liked it. We really wanted to. The musicians were great and the dancers were very talented.
But the show? WTF???
It was the most painful performance of any kind I've ever been subjected to. There was so much oddness I don't know where to begin. There were these video balls that kept dropping from the ceiling with various wierdness on them (spinning ovaries??). The dancing was highly technical and strange. There were many moments of silence where all you could hear were the dancer's feet tapping on the ground as they walked around like ducks or flapped their arms like some very odd birds, often breaking into random waltzes, sometimes man on man.
This went on for nearly two hours solid with no break in between. I think they were afraid that if they broke for intermission, people would leave. I'll be honest - that was our plan.
It was like being trapped in a room for two hours with nothing to look at but a Jackson Pollock painting; A piece of highly unusual "art" that about 5 people in the universe can understand or even want to. The kind of art that can only be appreciated after some experimentation with some, in Austen Powers speak, "mind expanding drugs".
My friend took the opportunity to have a nap during the show, which was probably the best use of time. One person in the audience kept doing loud sarcastic clapping before each piece ended to "hint" at them to please stop with the torture. Some of us were laughing and it wasn't supposed to be funny.
I've had the pleasure of being invited to several awesome shows at the Hummingbird, which I thoroughly enjoyed and I will continue to remain hopeful and positive that there will be many more fine performances to come - but this was not one of them.
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6 comments:
I agree with you! I was there, too, and I was falling asleep for parts of it. I thought there could have been more variation from one piece to another.
I can't agree with you more. What was that??? The bird moves and face washing moves may have artistic merit but whatever it might be, I have no clue. And the blinding screens with the various images that looked like bocconcini and raw steak to me...I didn't get that either. Perhaps all those non-sensical elements were supposed to represent something grand and enlightening - too bad it got lost on more than a few audience members. On the bright side, the first few minutes were quite interesting. The show was certainly unique. Unfortunately the remaining hour and fifty-five minutes or so proved to be a little painful once the novelty wore off. Nonetheless I'm happy I had the opportunity to attend the performance, even though I could not fully appreciate it. A new experience, great or not so great, never hurts.
I disagree.
The piece is really good. Particularly the male-male partnering, and the male on point portion.
Its true that at times the piece can be a little long, but Lock has a unique vision, it takes time to fully develop. I think it works. Again I return to the quality of the male dancers, it is so rare that a male dancer would be so prominent in a dance piece, usually they are merely dressing for the women. Whether you realized it or not, 2 of the guys were probably some of the most technically perfect contemporary dancers working in North America today. That in itself makes it worthwhile. The girls were good too, but it was nice to see a piece showcase male dancers as this did.
Just my opinion.
Cheers!
Thanks Anonymous, it's great to get another perspective :)
Yes, the dancing was highly technical as I said, and I can certainly appreciate the skill that is involved with that.
You make an interesting point about the male dancers and I'm sure that any professional dancer or choreographer would have enjoyed the show more than me. I just don't think it's for the masses.
No, Ali, I guess it's not for the masses, as you say. It takes someone with genuity, artistry, understanding, insight and intelligence to fully appreciate Amjad. Did you know it took 9 gruelling months of full time rehearsals to perfect that show? Have you ever run as fast as you can on a treadmill for an hour and 45 mins?
This work is a triumph. An ingenious modern spin on 2 of the most famous ballets. The dancers are phenomenal. The piece is incredibly technical and took the most intense physical training to bring to the stage.
If theatre were books, this would be Salman Rushdie at his best. So Ali, you'd probably do best to stick to your "chick lit".
Thank you, Anonymous. You're absolutely right. I have none of those qualities (genuity, artistry, understanding, insight and intelligence) - especially genuity, since that isn't actually a word.
It is obvious that a lot of work and effort went into that performance and as I said, I really wanted to like it. I felt bad that I couldn't say anything positive about it, but it was really painful and the audience was extremely restless and anxious to leave. My opinion was obviously shared with many in attendance.
You agreed with me that it wasn't for the masses, but in that case they should have chosen another, much smaller venue than the Hummingbird, which is where I and the rest of the ignorant masses go for major theater productions and the ballet.
If you are going to insult my intelligence, at least sign your name so I can thank you personally :)
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