Bayerisches Staatsballett: WAVES AND CIRCLES
Whether we think of the word ‘wave’ in relation to a shoreline, a radio or a football stadium, the idea of energy is always involved. An energy that seeks its own path and creates an impression of vitality. Waves often spread out in circles, radiating outwards from a centre in all directions. In the ‘Waves and Circles‘ triple bill, waves and circles play a role in different ways – they are sung about, visible or tangible.
William Forsythe's ballet ‘Blake Works I‘, created in 2016, is based on seven songs by British singer James Blake. While the lyrics of the songs are introverted and the sounds are fragile and playful, Forsythe's choreography, informed by classical French dance technique, provides a sophisticated counterpoint, featuring speed, brilliance and virtuosity.
Canadian choreographer Emma Portner is creating for a German company for the first time. Her creation ’Megahertz’ is based on a 22-minute song by British musician Paddy McAloon. The song presents the account of a woman's life, in which the boundary between reality and fiction is blurred. The female solo part in Portner's new piece is a choreographic counterpart to the narrating voice, alongside six other characters – strangers, figures and ghosts – that pass through this iteration of the woman’s story.
‘I wanted to bring out the melody that keeps coming to the fore and rolls in tirelessly like a wave.’
Maurice Ravel's orchestral piece ’Boléro’ (1928) may be best known today from the concert hall, but it originally accompanied a ballet. In 1961, Maurice Béjart presented a choreography that set new standards. Béjart's version takes up the structure of Ravel's music: the person dancing in the middle on a table embodies the melody, while the others forming a circle around the centre embody the rhythm. Béjart said: ‘I wanted to bring out the melody that keeps coming to the fore and rolls in tirelessly like a wave.’
Performances mostly sold out. Further information on the Staatsoper website.
Nationaltheater
Max-Joseph-Platz 2
80539 Munich