CHROMA choreography by Wayne McGregor. Presented by the National Ballet of Canada as part of a mixed program that includes Serenade and Emergence at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (145 Queen West). Wednesday (November 24) to November 28, 7:30 pm. $24-$227. 416-345-9595. See listing.
Respected dancer, dance critic and historian of dance Jennifer Homans has declared that ballet is dead.
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In her soon-to-be-released book Apollo’s Angels: A History Of Ballet, she argues that, with Balanchine, Stravinsky and Robbins gone, current choreographers practise an art out of step with society. Unable to reproduce the grandeur of ballet’s golden age, they’re reluctant to push the traditionally strict discipline in new directions.
That’s why, Homans says, ballet “really is over.”
If anyone can prove that this obituary is premature, it’s British choreographer Wayne McGregor.
Coming to ballet from a background in modern dance, McGregor has collaborated with architects, filmmakers, musicians and even scientists in laboratory spaces to infuse his long list of movement creations with bold new ideas.
The National Ballet’s presentation of his award-winning avant-garde ballet Chroma marks the first time since its 2006 debut that he’s allowed a company other than London’s prestigious Royal Ballet to perform it.
Chroma incorporates sharp and aggressive orchestral arrangements of songs by Detroit garage rockers the White Stripes and takes a minimalist approach to the genre’s typically opulent sets, costumes and plots.
“I feel like Wayne is way ahead of his time,” says National Ballet principal dancer Bridgett Zehr. “His approach to ballet is so fast-paced and creative, it’s like a whole new way of moving.”
If, as Homans suggests, ballet is as much an etiquette as an art, McGregor is rewriting the rules.
“As classically trained dancers, we strive to be in control and to always be perfect,” says Aleksandar Antonijevic, another principal dancer.
“You’re supposed to stay in line. You’re supposed to have your leg at exactly the right height. But Wayne is more concerned with what happens between steps. In rehearsal, he kept asking, ‘How do we relate to each other? What are we thinking when we dance? I don’t care if you hit the line, I just want you to explore the connection between those two steps.'”
Zehr says, “Growing up taking ballet, you’re told to do things a certain way. Then Wayne tells you to make what you’ve been taught into a really ugly shape, but in fact it’s beautiful because of its awkwardness.”
For Antonijevic, Chroma is as much about exploring ideas as it is about aesthetics.
“I enjoy that Wayne makes intellectual demands on us. He is out to experiment not only with movement and physicality, but also with what dance is in the world and what it means in general. This is certainly pushing us as dancers and ballet as an art forward.”
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