Les Ballets C de la B
Sadler’s Wells Theatre
Jérôme Bel
Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler’s Wells
Within the past two weeks Sadler’s Wells played host to two memorable modern dance performances: Pitié! and A Spectator. They could not have been more different, and yet they both showed how, in an arts world plagued by unimpressive imitations and continuous regurgitations of old ideas, there are still those who can break stale moulds and make an impact. Neither Alain Platel and his Les Ballets C de la B, nor Jérôme Bel are everyone’s favourites. Their controversial works have often irritated dance-goers. Still, their provocations are synonymous with artistic vibrancy, creativity and, above all, intelligence, as the two performances in question demonstrated.
Pitié! is the outcome of a new collaboration between Platel and the composer Fabrizio Cassol. Daringly based on Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion, it proposes an exploration of deeply emotional issues that range from sacrifice to maternal love, through a choreographic and musical reading of the celebrated — and somewhat untouchable — work.
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