"All the way from Holland, this fresh, contemporary company performed three works that showcased their grounded, melancholic style."

Stage Review

Chutzpah! Festival 2012

Show: Instrumental
Company: Noord Nederlandse Dans

Choreographers: Stephen Shropshire, Emanuel Gat, Rindra Rasoaveloson, Genevieve Osborne

Composers: David Lang, Emanuel Gat

Dancers: Patrizio Bucci, Luca Cacitti, Rachael Elliott, Mathieu Geffré, Martin Harriague, Amy Josh, Maya Klassen, Kim Kohlmann, Aimée Lagrange, Pasquale Lombardi, Arnaud Macquet, Beatrice Panero, Shay Partush, Karolina Szymura

Beat Poet: Derrick C. Brown

Musician: Timmy Straw

Venue: Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre

Run: Fen 15 – 18 2012 

Reviewed by: Tessa Perkins

All the way from Holland, this fresh, contemporary company performed three works that showcased their grounded, melancholic style. The fourteen dancers, of various nationalities (including one Canadian, Maya Klassen), were extremely focused and they worked well together with precision and synchronicity. I really enjoyed all three of these emotionally engaging pieces.

Set to a piece of music called “World to Come” by David Lang, the first work, titled Now I Lay Me Down, was a group dance full of deep plies in second position, long lunges, and legs and feet slapping on the stage. For most of the piece only a few dancers were on the stage at a time, and they traded off doing beautifully intricate partner work with innovative lifts and lots of contact. The violin based music and dappled lighting gave this a particularly melancholic feel as the dancers glided slowly and purposefully through their movements. The costumes for this piece were very minimal: fitted briefs on the bottom and tanks on top in muted blue and beige tones. 

The second piece, Time Touching Themes, was a duet set to a cacophony of static-filled electronic sounds that were quite jarring. The two dancers were dressed in rompers and had great chemistry together. This piece was slower moving and even more sombre, but the precision and clarity of the movements gave it a unique beauty.

The final piece, Strange Light, featured beat poet Derrick C. Brown and musician Timmy Straw performing on stage with the dancers. Brown’s poem was composed specifically for this show, and it is described as an “autobiographical piece about light being born.” He passionately recited the poem which goes through every stage of his life as he describes various experiences. Straw performed keyboard to accompany the poetry, and the dancing interpreted and portrayed the words of the poem very well. This was a brilliant fusion of dance, poetry, and music that was performed with passion and ended with the poignant line “When we die, the poetry leaves our body.”

I am so glad that the Chutzpah! Festival was able to bring Noord Nederlandse Dans to Vancouver, and I hope that they will return someday soon to share more of their diverse repertoire with us.