Four dancers stomp onto the stage and perform jump squats. Their feet slap down on the stage amidst the darkness and stark silence. The long pauses leave plenty of time for the audience to ponder the nudity that confronts us and consider its purpose. While there is a certain element of shock, it is quickly overtaken by the choreography’s meditative effect.
Daniel Léveillé’s Amour, acide et noix is stark, daring, and visceral. Despite an overall serious tone and lack of facial expression, there are moments of humour that pop up throughout, all the more prominent amidst such a pared-down display of physical feats.
As Vivaldi’s Four Seasons begins to play, the fluid notes provide a stark contrast to the stiff, stoic movements and long moments of stillness. The dancers showcase their impressive strength and control with jumps and long holds in an arabesque en fondue. Like slow moving, jumping sculptures, they swiftly move in and out of poses with ease.
A sudden change brings German heavy metal of Rammstein for a passionate duet of impressive lifts and anatomical poses; an especially striking lift with his arm through her legs and holding her straight up. We switch right back to classical music for a solo of controlled jumps and holds, followed by a stunning duet displaying strength and symmetry.
A fusion of frustration and freedom infuses this piece with the sense that we are all prone to being stuck in a loop that we struggle to escape, the human condition being monotonous at times but ultimately beautiful, humorous, and freeing.
As all four dancers bend over and reach forward until they’re lying face down, the music is barely audible. It’s as if we’re holding our breath to see what will come next. They roll over in unison and stand back up, then repeat the slow and steady movements a few more times. This really felt like an ending, but there were a couple more sequences, and some birdsong, before the final scene of four dancers each in their own spotlight, moving slowly through different poses. As the lighting very slowly dimmed to darkness, we were left with the raw, authentic feelings that the dancers left onstage, and a sense that we are all connected.
