Dance review: Singapore Ballet showcases growing strength in Masterpiece In Motion
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Choreographer Timothy Rushton also designed the set and costumes for Without You.
PHOTO: BERNIE NG
Jocelyn Chng
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Masterpiece In Motion
Singapore Ballet
Esplanade Theatre
Saturday, 8pm
Masterpiece In Motion, a staple in Singapore Ballet’s annual season, showcases contemporary works by international choreographers.
The 2023 edition celebrates the company’s 35th milestone with the world premiere of Without You by British choreographer Timothy Rushton, which opened the evening’s triple bill.
A fitting showcase of the company’s growing strength, the piece called for 32 dancers in different configurations, with some alluring group patterns on stage.
The work contemplated the ideas of love and forgetting. In a particularly arresting opening image, a grid emanating white light hung very low over two dancers on a bare stage.
The duo – a woman in a long black evening dress, and a man in a pose with one arm over his head, his gaze away from the woman – then started to move slowly, with the rest of the company filing around them in a square floor pattern.
The starkness of the stage design and the low grid hanging over the dancers created a claustrophobic atmosphere initially.
In contrast, in the next section of the piece, the grid was lifted, opening up the stage space.
Correspondingly, the company started to perform quicker movements, with a lot of partner work in the first half of the piece that required fast and accurate transitions. These were well-executed by the dancers.
The piece stood out for its simple yet effective design, and coherence of the overall elements, as Rushton not only choreographed it, but also designed the costumes and set.
Chant by choreographer Val Caniparoli was created for the then-Singapore Dance Theatre in 2011.
PHOTO: BERNIE NG
The second work, Chant, was created by American choreographer Val Caniparoli in 2011 for the company (then named Singapore Dance Theatre).
Performed to Lou Harrison’s Double Concerto For Violin And Cello With Javanese Gamelan, the sound of the Javanese gamelan against ballet movements provided the work’s primary appeal.
Given Singapore Ballet’s location in South-east Asia, it would be interesting to see more work that incorporates regional influences.
The second movement of Chant allowed four dancers to perform solos in turn, against powerful pulsating music. This was a particularly refreshing and enjoyable part of the work.
The evening ended with Configurations, a work by Singaporean choreographer Goh Choo San for the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), that premiered in 1981.
This work presented a striking visual picture of 10 men, with bright blue dominating the stage colour.
While technically proficient, Singapore Ballet lacked the bravado to embody the spirit of Goh Choo San’s Configurations.
PHOTO: BERNIE NG
Choreographed to a Samuel Barber Piano Concerto, Configurations had a strong mid-20th-century American sensibility.
The piece varied widely in mood, from an emotional pas de deux to a high-energy, flamboyant ending.
While the company was technically proficient, it lacked the bravado of the ABT to really embody the spirit of the piece.
Nevertheless, the evening’s programme flowed well overall, with Without You providing an especially strong opening.
