Fabrice Lambert presented The Dream on the first evening, which set off with a long black and white video presentation that took a close -up look at the textures of the skin and revealed its diminutive landscapes in an intriguing, sensuous way.
By ORA BRAFMANFrench Connection
Suzanne Dellal
December 14, 15
Four consecutive evenings of contemporary fringe works under the French Connection framework, present an opportunity to see a small segment of the rich, varied and heavily subsidized dance activity in France.
All four choreographers often collaborate with visual arts creators, in their effort expand the long-established definition of stage dance, and open their discourse to new audiences outside the traditional dance realm.
Fabrice Lambert presented The Dream on the first evening, which set off with a long black and white video presentation that took a close -up look at the textures of the skin and revealed its diminutive landscapes in an intriguing, sensuous way. At times it looked like the dark silvery water, at other times like dunes or sculptured objects. Lamber, on his part, danced in semi- darkness, slowly moving his limbs, as if exploring anew the interaction of his body parts with the lights and density of the air around him. His dancing was unusually sincere, subdued, with a few hints of the powers he chose to restrain.
Numero by Emmanuelle Huynh with Nicolas Floc'h s is closer to performance- art in nature. Huynh and Floc'h shoot fluorescent arrows in the dark, play with the lights, insert thin, long rods through cardboard box, and set the mood for an evening of magic and action that never actually materialized.
Perhaps the respectable stage of Suzanne Dellal was too serious for the pair, perhaps the set design called for by the specific condition of that stage diminished the anecdotic air of the original work. Two summers ago, I saw Numero at a dance festival in France, in a dark, overheated informal hall. It looked less pretentious, as it should have.
Both works can hardly be considered as true representatives of the cutting-edge French dance, but mere arbitrary samples.
Both evenings were on the sparse side and were very short, 35-40 minutes each, imbalanced for ticket holders that paid full price of 105 NIS for a seat.