As it were

source:enoperase
Explosive, communicative, minimalistic and extravagant. World premiere S & S 3rd of March presents new dance creations by acclaimed choreographers Sharon Eyal and Sang Jijia. Performed by GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, that recently received two prestigious national awards.

Thin black pieces of paper are raining on the main stage, forming light-weight piles, that the dancers pierce through with a hissing sound. For Tibetan-Chinese choreographer Sang Jijia communication is as much what is not being said, about the spaces and the emptiness. And paper is more than paper.

”Paper is central in Chinese culture. We write on it, it stands for memory and memories to bring into the future”, Sang Jijia says.

His first creation with GöteborgsOperan, As it were is about human communication. About the joy of reaching someone but also about all that is lot or misunderstood.

Sang Jijia’s work is characterized by a seductive balance between astounding physical dance and emotional power. He has been a dancer and assistant choreographer to the legendary William Forsythe, and is today a well-established and in-demand name in Asia.

Autodance, the second part of S & S Is Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal’s second creation for GöteborgsOperans Danskompani. The piece is created out of ”pure movements”, where the dancers move like powerful and primitive centaurs on half-toe, which is extremely demanding. All of it to Ori Lichtik’s pulsing music.

Sharon Eyal integrates dance, techno and technique: equally explosive and sublime. For the last ten years she has created critically acclaimed creations for prominent dance companies, with Gai Behar as co-creator. Their Untitled Black (2012), created for GöteborgsOperans Danskompani (an excerpt was shown at Melodifestivalen 2017) is one such example.
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source:dicksondeecom
A dance program by Sang Jijia and Sharon Eyal.

S & S are two creations that weave together movement, light and sound into a distinctive and engrossing world premiere.

As it were

Creation by Sang Jijia

According to Chinese philosophy, silence contains as much meaning as what is uttered; for calligraphy and other pictorial arts, the negative space between brushstrokes is as important as what the brushstrokes represent – this emptiness contains the essence. So relates Tibetan-Chinese choreographer Sang Jijia.

As it were, Sang Jijia’s first creation for GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, is about communication – about the joy of getting through to someone else, but also about everything that gets lost or is misunderstood. As humans, we share the same space but are detached from one another. We know what we want to say, but intentions can become confused.

One by one, sheets of black tissue slowly float down to the stage from above. The dancers’ movements create white negative spaces within the black. Sometimes, the unspoken says more than the spoken.

Sang Jijia is known for his alluring creations that combine astounding physical dance with an emotional touch, often reinforced by video projections and multimedia. He has been a dancer and assistant choreographer to the legendary William Forsythe, and today is a well-established and in-demand name in Asia.
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source:expressense
RECENSION | DANS. Lika lätt som tunna, svarta pappersark singlar ner över scenen, lika självklart fogar sig de två verken samman som utgör Göteborgsoperans dansafton “S & S”. Danspubliken bjuds ofta omaka mixer av korta stycken, men “S & S” är som yin och yang; de fogar sig mjukt in i varandra, trots att de är nästan helt motsatta.

Det regnar papper
Först ”As it were” av Sang Jijia, kinesisk koreograf född i Tibet, och helt ny i det svenska danslandskapet. Kinesisk modern dans är ett ganska nytt kapitel, men i dag finns några aktade namn på den internationella scenen, oftast med referenser till kulturarvet. Papper är just en sådan, och här regnar sotsvarta ark från ovan genom hela verket.

Det är som en vacker tuschlavering, mer bild än något annat, där det dansande papperet spelar huvudrollen och det fantastiskt välkoordinerade kompaniet underbygger den poetiska bilden. Kanske ser vi ett regn av brända flagor efter en världslig katastrof, kanske en nostalgisk metafor för nuets hastiga övergång i ett då. Och för ensamheten inom en grupp; dansarna hanterar fint den lite anonyma stilen i dansen.

Men om “As it were” är en vacker stilla bild, så går Sharon Eyal rakt på publiken med ”Autodance” som ett pansarfordon; lika organisk som tungt mekanisk, lika kollektivistisk som (parentetiskt) individuell.

Bakgrund i Batsheva
Sharon Eyal har sin bakgrund i Batsheva Dance Company, och redan titeln “Autodance” leder tankarna till Ohad Naharins profilverk “Deccadance”. Det är något i det uniforma marscherandet som får mig att tänka på de gamla grekernas ”den bäste soldaten var alltid också den bäste dansaren”. En beige kroppsarmé på marsch, en patrull av fjorton dansare högt på tå; skyhöga, docklika, identiska, men personliga.

LÄS MER – Margareta Sörenson: I gagadansen är män och kvinnor lika

Göteborgsoperans danskompani är ett mänskligt urverk som levandegör, trollbinder och förbluffar. Får jag gissa kommer den strängt formstarka “Autodance” att leva vidare på repertoaren.