In the wings of Nederlands Dans Theater, the new generation of dance makers is ready. Medhi Walerski and Johan Inger are both former dancers of the company and have previously created pieces there. In the programme Shearing the Wolves of NDT2, they each surprise with a world premiere full of intense, pure dance. By comparison, an older work by house choreographers Sol Léon and Paul Lightfoot falls through as theatrically beautiful, but less interesting in terms of dance.
Shearing the Wolves is the first programme this year by NDT2, the company for young talents, and their first performance at the Zuiderstrandtheater in The Hague. The show is named after a story by O. Henry (pseudonym of William Sydney Porter). Like all NDT programmes and Léon/Lightfoot pieces, the title starts with an S, a tradition since a very young Paul Lightfoot dedicated all his ballets to his girlfriend Sol a quarter of a century ago. This sometimes leads to somewhat sought-after titles, especially now that they have not been a couple for years.
The ambience in the Zuiderstrand Theatre is fine, although the lack of a centre aisle and a working lift are flaws. The bright lighting of the side aisles is also a nuisance when the stage is darker.
Potential innovator
The evening of my visit begins with AUREUM by Medhi Walerski. A powerful beginning, in which four men dance in the middle of the room with sometimes a larger group around them. This is done to music by Chopin, unfortunately not played live. Apart from light and colour (gold!), Walerski plays with group dynamics, with synchronous movements and surprising twists. The dance is really central, physical and grounded, but also with clear roots in ballet. Although a concrete story cannot be pinpointed, the piece continues to fascinate with great beauty. This puts Walerski on the map as a potential NDT innovator, within the tradition established by Jirí Kylián. It doesn't get any better than this in this performance, and that's good, because the order is reversed this evening - normally it is AUREUM the valve.
From Léon and Lightfoot, who make only one new work this entire season, we see tonight Sleight of Hand from 2007. Two house-high figures flank the backdrop, while in the foreground dark figures rise from the orchestra pit. The piece captivates more through the music - Philip Glass - and theatrical effects than through the dance. The latter, as often happens, loses itself in too many movements with too little meaning, obscuring the view of action and characters. Fortunately, the young dancers turn out to be good actors, so that the Kyliánesk's wide-open mouths nonetheless produce shudders and the grim-dramatic atmosphere comes into its own. The pas-de-deux of Paxton Ricketts and Madoka Kariya creates a subtle poignancy. So do Rachel McNamee and Graham Kaplan, who turn the two giants in the background into tragic prisoners as much as rulers.
Eternal inadequacy
If Walerski evokes a memory of Kylián's legacy, Johan Inger nominates himself with One on One previously as heir to Hans van Manen. His duets are playful - with odd running steps across a floor full of billowing flakes - but very intense, dragging the viewer into real interpersonal relationships. Men and women probe their relationships to music by the ever-alone Schubert. That music is played live by Sepp Grotenhuis of The Ballet Orchestra, but the piano is amplified in such a way that the sounds again come mainly from the speakers. Missed opportunity! Grotenhuis' performance is beautiful, though, as is the grand lighting. Of the duets, that of Katarina van den Wouwer and Guido Dutilh touches the most, with their rendition of the eternal inadequacy of our attempts and desires: needing, wanting to be needed, ignoring, disappointing. When he wants to carry her, he holds up only emptiness. In the course of the play, after a seeming end, she loses One on One unfortunately something of its urgency, but the promise is there.
Thus, NDT2 rightly proves itself as a young company, in which both the young dancers convince with virtuosity and experience, and the up-and-coming choreographers.
Seen: 31 October 2015, Zuiderstrandtheater, The Hague. Tour until 20 December. Website: www.ndt.nl
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