AUTOGRAPHS • ZÜRICH
★★★★★☆
Photo: Admil Kuyler
REVIEW AUTOGRAPHS: THREE TOP CHOREOGRAPHERS TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY IN ZURICH
Twice before, modern dance has taken my breath away at the Zurich Opera House. Now it has happened again.
The triple bill Autographs, featuring signature works by top choreographers Crystal Pite, Wayne McGregor and William Forsyth, explores modern choreographic styles, with a stunning ballet corps thrilling the audience with their technical brilliance.
Photo: Admil Kuyler
In Emergence, Crystal Pite explores human hierarchy in a metaphorical dance performance in which the dancers, like bees around a hive, interpret the dynamics that exist between individuals and groups.
It may sound highbrow, but what happens on stage in a dazzlingly beautiful set, executed by an ensemble so sharp that you can’t help but be swept away, is absolutely fabulous.
Photo: Admil Kuyler
Around 25 dancers take to the stage – the men first in black jeans-cut tights and exceptionally well-trained upper bodies.
A little later, the women buzz forward and gather in synchronised choreographies so precise that your jaw drops. Strange, jerky, insect-like movements create the impression of bees swarming in and out of their hive, which is represented by a large, open concrete tube in the middle of the stage, from which the dancers swarm in and out.
The music is more of a soundscape than music, but it establishes a tremulous atmosphere of inner struggle, enhanced by super-aesthetic lighting.
The audience responds after the finale with a roar of cheers worthy of a spectacular football goal.
Photo: Admil Kuyler
In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated by William Forsythe challenges the traditional conventions of classical ballet in a kind of revolutionary spirit, where the dancers captivate the audience with their austere aesthetics and collective power.
Photo: Admil Kuyler
Infra, choreographed by Wayne McGregor, unfolds in a dazzling visual design that places six pairs of dancers in their own square illuminated spot in front of a 20-metre-wide LED screen, where animated pictogram-like people pass each other in a continuous loop.
The music by Max Richter, with its mix of piano strophes, electronica and indeterminate soundscapes, reinforces the atmosphere of alienation and urban anonymity that contrasts with the presence and expressive interactions of the dance couples.
The piece is reportedly inspired by the isolation brought about by the terrorist attacks in London in 2021.
Autographs is three stunning, modern ballets – a captivating dance experience of the highest calibre, scoring five stars from Got to see this.
