Words by Holly
Forget the pink leotards and fumbled pirouettes of your childhood ballet classes; professional ballet is a combination of elite athleticism and stirring art. Remember Rodarte's costume design's for Black Swan? Swoon.
The Australian Ballet's production Bodytorque. DNA is a showcase of Australia's up-and-coming choreographers, reworking the ballet genre to an ultra-modern theme: DNA. As the dancers twist and contort their lithe bodies into double helixes, you can't help but feel a little flash of envy, silently vowing to hit the gym more often. And yes, some of them get to wear fabulous tutus of course.
Tutus and body envy aside, the performances themselves are breathtaking.
Alice Topp's visually stunning "Same Vein" stands out especially for its contemporary appeal. The piece is a celebration of the "sameness" of all life on Earth, the way that all people, and animals too, emerge from the same genetic system. The dancers begin moving to the pulse of a beating heart against a projected background of Rorschach-like shapes: As the movement of the dancers shifts from primitive stomps to stunning technical feats, the shapes take on human and animal forms. The final, intimate dance involving two male performers has a political message: all love is the same.
Bodytorque. DNA demonstrates just how ballet is by no means a dying art form. Rather, a living, breathing example of the aesthetic and physical capabilities of the human body.
We're in love.
Bodytorque. DNA demonstrates just how ballet is by no means a dying art form. Rather, a living, breathing example of the aesthetic and physical capabilities of the human body.
We're in love.
with love.
