Last night I strayed from Symphony Hall and took the Orange Line to the theatre district to see Boston Ballet perform Black and White. I don't know where to begin, but I'll start with beautiful, interesting, and challenging. Beautiful: the dancers moved with grace and length, portraying phrases in movement that I've been trained to hear in music. The costuming was minimal which isolated focus to the motion. Interesting: the setting was a blank canvas where my imagination was able to to have few interpretation boundaries. In the first piece I saw more lines and shapes than I saw dancers...an ensemble creating a visual effect. There were these classical style dresses (corset with full skirt) that were used as props but I continued to see them as a reference to the classical style. The ballet was very contemporary but the past is always somewhat present, influential, and where one came from (the dresses).
There was one piece that was challenging for my individual. It was a piece for six men and the dresses were looming above them with sharp lighting. The men created their own track of sounds with their voices which were warped through a mic system and sometimes it was so loud and eire that I plugged my ears. It seemed to have a flavor of Sci Fi (perhaps due to the sound effects) that gave me a rush of adrenaline and a quick pulse. It made me think about Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010 runway show. Though I only read about the show, there seemed to be a connection. How bizarre is it that in the same piece, I was reminded of Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins" when he pulled down his trousers to dance with penguins.
I really enjoyed attending the performance and the opportunity of getting to know new and fun people. I'm definitely looking forward to next season!
