For their Joyce Theater debut (February 7-12), Centre Chorégraphique National – Ballet de Lorraine, in one of two programs, presented the New York premiere of their latest work, Unknown Pleasures. In all, five international choreographers, four women and one man, ranging in age from 30s to 70s made the work, but their names were never revealed. In fact, the program give the name of the dancers, but for choreography, music, costume and stage design, it reads “Unsigned x5, x6, x5 and x2,” respectively. So, the anonymity of it all is what holds our attention; when were certain sections made, who choreographed what section and so on. If we were to guess, maybe, with some knowledge of dance history (or just familiarity) we could say that there was at least a nod to Merce Cunningham and Lucinda Childs. We could draw upon the darting and intersecting lines, the breathless and sexy dance to Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero,” plus the impressive and really complicated spinning section, for proof. From colorful screen dividers, flip-flops, jeans with white T-shirts that spell out “The world is burning, but I keep on turning,” a song here and there, shiny gold unitards and more, the evening was a mix of styles and genres. This is the initial stop of their first U.S. tour. The other program featured Devoted by Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud, HOK solo pour ensemble by Alban Richard and Sounddance by Cunningham. The artistic director is Petter Jacobsson.
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