Bolero, National Theatre Brno, (NdB, Národní divadlo Brno, guest appearance at SND – Slovenské Národné Divadlo, Bratislava), January 18th, 2024

Mário Radačovský (Ballet Director and choreographer of NdB) always manages to impress and surprise me in the best way possible. I became accustomed to this. This time not only because of his choice of works, putting together three most unusual pieces in the same ballet soirée – I use this particular French word on purpose as its concrete definition should not be „an evening" but more like „a fancy evening affair". That sounds much closer to what we have just witnessed in Bratislava last Friday.

The choice of works for an intimate „evening affair" between Artists on stage and the public like this one, should never be underestimated. If it is so, audiences can be confronted with dull, irrelevant, tedious ballet evenings. This kind of conventional programme (which is sometimes called „innovative " by the ones who „put it together"), is what we have been having to go through (and endure) in Vienna for the last 3 and half years.

All the more is my excitement when I can witness a more daring (and unconventional) strategy with new choreographers, not just using „names" (as Van Manen, Cunningham etc.) especially because they also wrote pieces that became „dated" with the passing of times. The evening structure which we were presented was incredibly flexible in its depth and the three works by the brilliant Swedish choreographer Johan Inger, Rumanian Dan Datcu and Slovakian Mário Radačovský, even if so different from one to the other, complemented each other beautifully.

For me, it was a particular joy to witness, after such a long time watching the more, in their conception, formal and repetitious works which are forced to endure here in Vienna, these three completely different works with three completely different dance vocabularies, languages.

To make a long story short: Creativity at its best.

But please, do not misunderstand me: I enjoy nothing more than a classic repertoire when well and intelligently danced. The pieces are mostly timeless. On the contrary many contemporary and modern works have become too „dated", as mentioned above - because they are too much connected with a certain period. To give you an example: Who can listen to John Cage's music in the Cunningham pieces without recognizing and noticing the restrictions that time left on his music? On the other hand, in 100 years we will still be listening to Tchaikowsky, Ravel, Minkus, Adam and Prokofieff. Do you see what I mean?

Three forms of different questioning the same: human relationships and their subtilities, as if being seen through a prism.

„Walking Mad" (Johan Inger) opened the evening and set us immediately in a kind of frenetic way (I mean this in a good way) of observation. Sometimes showing us nuances of an egoistic way of going straight through very sinuous ways. The superb use of the scenery, the action going on everywhere, in different timing and angles and so well conceived that one could never foresee (and suspect) where or when the next quick action was going to take place. Everything is so well thought out – down to the more simple and minimalistic details. The „gimmick" of the conception and it all was that everything could happen at once, in large or small groups and/or singularly. The timing of the actions fascinated me with its nearly visceral visions.

Strong, expressive, sensitive dancers such as Shoma Ogasawara, did a great job and, João Gomes, Barbora Bielkóva, Emilia Vuorio, Ilya Mironov, and Arthur Abram (who had the difficult task of being in all pieces of the triple bill!) brought an incredible, liveness to the piece. One that was so „real" that you could nearly touch it. One that was (also) danced to Ravel's „Bolero", a not-so-easy task after Béjart's „classic" evergreen version that continues to dazzle generation after generation. Chapeau to Mr Inger for concluding this challenge in such a low-profiled version.

„Mountain Call" (Dan Dactu), which brings us „down (or back) to the roots, started symbolically with a dance that reminds us of an earthy ritual and developed more and more into a confrontation of the present vs. the past. Another interesting point of view of human relationships while exploring these same relationships (and their contradictions) within oneself, but perhaps the piece to which the audience could less relate.

Mr Dactu came a long way to reach this (for me) unanswered question. I can still remember a young boy dancing in the Corps de Ballet of the Vienna State Opera – was this 2006, or 2007?

Rituals, traditions, folklore – all this brings a very near association in the essence of this ballet with Edward Clug's work – whose Romanian roots are also to be noticed in its questioning, especially in „Peer Gynt"

The boys displayed a singular homogenous integrated whole, a real „unit" even if sometimes Bence Kaszap „stood out" a bit due to his very muscular physique. Don't misunderstand me. Mr Kaszap has an exceptional figure – it is just different when compared to the other boys.

A special mention to lovely Klaudie Lakomá and Klaudia Radačovská who is leaving the stage in short to concentrate on her private life. You gave us very much. Thank you!

„Unanswered Question" by Mário Radačovský closed the evening. A daring work in its subtilities. Human relationships and their subtilities. Having a nephew who has recently realized (and verbalized) that he was born „in the wrong body", I am extremely sensitive (and willing to learn) about this theme.

This quite minimalistic choreography, written by Mr Radačovský, made me once more aware of the words that my nephew once said (when we asked him/her if he/she was attracted to men): The transexual state is also not about whom you love or have sex with, it is about feeling well in your own body or with yourself. It is not about the others but about oneself. The gamut of relationship forms (man/woman, man/man, woman/woman ) showed to us during the piece made me realize how accurately my nephew had described his situation, therefore helping me understand much more the dramaturgy of the story even before I had seen it.

The conception is beautiful.

And with „daring" I do not only mean the sexuality involved in the storyline but the selection of music, the costumes, the sets and even those glittering lights that made me think more of a jukebox or a TV show or even of Burlesque... or, I dare say, an Altar?

Arthur Abram leads the ensemble with his usual expressive self, this time quite tormented by visions he (the character) would perhaps not like to accept (Or is it that he just does not understand them?).

Thoriso Magongwa gave a beautiful reading of one of the main characters with his customary strong stage presence. Beginning with his „My Funny Valentine" femme fatale entrance, culminating with the men's pas de deux in bed (while dancing with the likewise expressive Martin Svobodník), perhaps the most beautiful dance piece of the evening, and later showing another side of the character's, his/her personality while joining „the girl", beautifully played by lovely Se Hyun An.

The „Corps", filled with talented dancers presented also three dancers whose careers I have been following every time I am in Brno: Taela Paltridge, Quinn Roy and João Gomes, only this time I got to see them in Bratislava.

Just to summarize: not only a beautiful dance evening, with three completely different ballets and three different (original) dance languages but an evening that makes us think and feel a bit further than „our own backyard". That is what Art should stand for. To make us think, understand, and feel some empathy, perhaps to questions that do not us touch directly but that exist and affect, I do not know, how many people in our surroundings.

I'll leave you with that today.

Ricardo Leitner

January 20th, 2024

P.S. Congratulations to both NdB and SND and their directors Mário Radačovský and Nina Poláková for this beautiful and successful joining venture. Bravo!