THE HANGOVER REPORT – NEDERLANDS DANS THEATER makes a rare appearance in New York, and they’re as sleek and impressive as ever

Nederlands Dans Theater at New York City Center

Nederlands Dans Theater at New York City Center

This past weekend, I attended a performance by the Nederlands Dans Theater, who made a rare appearance in New York at City Center last week. I first encountered the internationally revered company on whim while on vacation in Barcelona more than a decade ago, where they performed Jiří Kylián’s striking evening-length ballet “One of a Kind”. I vividly remember having a strong reaction to it; I had never seen dance so pristinely modern and executed with such authority and technical prowess. Since then, I’ve seen them two more times (not including this recent visit), once at Chicago’s gorgeous Auditorium Theater in 2009 and then again at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in 2014. These subsequent encounters have only confirmed my belief that the NDT dancers are among the most talented dancers in the world. And on top of that, the company is one of the few in the world to benefit from a budget large enough to fully realize choreographers’ visions. Although some dance aficionados find NDT’s aesthetic to be distancing and lacking in warmth, I find their aggressively sleek and angular style to be breathtaking.

For NDT’s brief New York engagement, the company performed four pieces: “Safe as Houses” choreographed by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, “Woke up Blind” choreographed by Marco Goecke, “The Statement” choreographed by Crystal Pite, and “Stop-Motion” also choreographed by Ms. León and Mr. Lightfoot. Both “Safe as Houses” and “Stop-Motion”, which bookended the evening, are classic NDT showcases. Not surprisingly, both are choreographed by the duo of Ms. León and Mr. Lightfoot and give the impression – very much like George Balanchine’s works – of a story brewing underneath the stylish dancing and the evolution of distinct relationships between the dancers. “Woke up Blind” refreshingly finds NDT more playful than I’ve ever seen them. “The Statement”, on the other hand, thrillingly emphasizes the “theater” in Nederlands Dans Theater; the piece physicalizes a stretch of dialogue that well could have been lifted from a cinematic thriller, and it was a true crowd-pleaser. The program in total gave the impression that the company is as impressive as ever.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

NEDERLANDS DANS THEATER
Dance
New York City Center
2 hours, 30 minutes (with two intermissions)
Closed

Categories: Dance

Leave a Reply