The Nederlands Dans Theater

There are good reasons why adjectives like “exquisite”, “astonishing”, “flawless”, “incomparable” are used about the Nederlands Dans Theater – affectionately known as NDT. Their agility and physicality are incomparable, their technique is astonishing and their lines are exquisite - overall they are indeed flawless.

Non- Dancers (I am lucky to have a daughter who was a dancer as my companion) cannot even begin to imagine the punishment these dancers undergo with their spectacular physicality. If there was an Olympics for dance, every member would be a gold medallist.

Last night there were moments of heart-stopping beauty in their work and virtuoso performances galore. But nothing in the universe is perfect, and the one weakness apparent was a lack of emotional connection to each other and the audience. These dancers are superb, they have mastered both the art and craft of great dance, but a little injection of  “heart”…of emotional connection at a human level… would mean perfection.

The company, gathered from the finest dancers all over the world, (Spain, USA, Portugal, Nederlands, France, Ireland, England etc) have been working with choreographers and Artistic Directors Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot for many years. They relate to their work, and their expression physically is the manifestation of their worship of dance - but that worship of dance becomes abstract if the expression is devoid of emotional connection.

Sehnsucht – which roughly means yearning for something you cannot define – should be emotionally engaging, but it isn’t. I didn’t hear (or see) a creative voice speaking to me – or else it didn’t compel me to listen. And if the voice is not loud and clear, and filled with passion, entreating me to feel, then it might as well be an automated recording. Whatever choreographers Leon and Lightfoot are trying to say, they have to remember that passion is an integral part of speech.

Despite this, Beethoven’s music provides a superb background for the three main dancers.

Afro American Prince Credell stretches all of our preconceptions of the human body. His isolations almost deconstruct his body; his extensions are jaw-dropping, and his sheer vitality and endurance are exhausting to watch (perhaps his “front of tabs” slow motion exit was the most amazing physical moment of the night). He is, however, outside the box, yearning to be part of what is within.

Within a revolving box … a suggestion of a mundane room which turns the dancers on their heads without them going anywhere … Parvaneh Scharafali and Medhi Walerski play a couple who connect physically, but not emotionally. The lifts are truly astonishing, the body shapes incredible, the agility mesmerising, yet the sense of Disconnect continues.

Solo Echo is the work of acclaimed Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. With its Brahms’ sonatas lyrically guiding the videoed snowfall backdrop; and the odd snowflake falling on the stage, the seven dancers sublime embrace a fluidity which never falters. Far removed from the combination of stunning classical steps juxtaposed with ugly gyrations breaking the beauty …which Leon and Lightfoot favour, Pite’s ballet is like liquid … snow melting, drifting, coming together, yet each flake ultimately alone. It’s an ode to winter, and to acceptance and loss. The poignancy and poetry of the work make us hold our breath and it is marvellous to see the special presence of Roger Van der Poel at work.

Leon and Lightfoot offer Stop-Motion as the final ballet, and again Prince Credell is at its core, yet one cannot ignore the brilliance of all the dancers … nor the inordinate amount of white chalk they contend with. This is beautiful work and I totally understand the reasons for the disconnect of the programme, in order to present dance in its purest form. Dance for dancers is a noble agenda, and almost a divine calling, but we are not all dancers and, from our lowly mere human status, we need to connect.

Coral Drouyn

Images (from top): Sehnsucht, Solo Echo and Stop-Motion. Photographer: Rahi Rezvani.