Review: Nederlands Dans Theater dazzles Hong Kong with contemporary dance mixed bill
Hongkongers may have been waiting almost a decade to see NDT1 perform again but they were not left disappointed over the weekend with a programme of powerful and emotive modern dance executed superbly by the troupe
Nine years after their last appearance in Hong Kong, Nederlands Dans Theater’s primary troupe, NDT1, has made a long overdue return. The well-structured mixed bill showcased work by some of the world’s most sought-after choreographers.
Superbly danced, the performances offered a dazzling display of contemporary dance at its best, and it’s to be hoped we don’t have to wait another nine years for this outstanding company’s next visit.
In the Event by Canada’s Crystal Pite was riveting in its emotional power and the beauty and originality of its choreography.
It begins with a group of people gathered around one of their number who has died. Pite expresses their shock and grief brilliantly through staccato movements of heads and hands before moving on to a stunning sequence where the dancers form the movement of waves crashing on the shore, swooping forward together with their arms stretched down. This in turn gives way to a series of solos and duets, filled with striking images as the dancers freeze in dramatic positions, before returning to where it began and ending on a breathtaking, heartfelt solo by Jon Bond.
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The piece is an ideal example of what can be achieved by a choreographer, composer and designer working together. Owen Belton’s score, full of sounds suggestive of a storm and waves or walls crashing down, together with Jay Gower Taylor’s brilliant set design – a textured backcloth which moves with the wind and is pierced by lightning – combine with the choreography to create a perfectly organic whole.