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Christian Rizzo's „D'apres une histoire vraie“
Not a question of beauty
I often us this term in order to describe dance or choreography. But it simply does not apply in this case. The eight male dancers in Christian Rizzo's piece do not dance to please the viewer's eye or aesthetic desire. Their dance is exciting, electrifying and elegant but it does not attempt to be beautiful. Fabien Almakiewicz, Smain Boucetta, Massimo Fusco, Miguel Garcia Llorens, Pep Garrigues, Kerem Gelebek, Filipe Lourenco, Roberto Martínez dance in order to tell us the story about a musical journey around the world during which we encounter other cultures, rituals and dances. The fact that we are somewhere else is highlighted at the very beginning of the piece. The first dancer approaches the stage and before stepping on it he takes off his shoes. A habit known from southern and middle eastern cultures. Gradually the other dancers approach the stage in order to join him, they first stop at the different sides and edges. A gesture typical for folkloric dances throughout the world. These subtle choreographic hints help us understand that we are guests watching a journey evolves.
Beat it
It begins in Valencia moves on to Athens, Jerusalem, Arnedo, Replonges, Bourges, Lima and ends in Istanbul. Didier Ambact and King Q4 are the rhythmic companions of this journey. These two musicians masterly extract the pure rhythmic essence of folk songs without loosing any musical essence of the pieces. Both are situated in the left rear corner of the stage on a pedestal so that they and their drums are visible. They “beat it” and their sound gives the piece its tempo. I could hardly sit still while I watched – if it were not my feet moving, it was my head, my hand or my shoulders.... I was not the only one. A glimpse around me and I was assured that the rhythm was getting almost everyone at Kampnagel2.
After a true story
When a movie starts or ends with this line the attitude and perspective of its viewers often alters. This is not a story a person has invented. This has happened in real life - leading to more empathy, astonishment or disapproval. One could say the portion of feelings involved becomes bigger once this line is dropped. But what does it mean when a dance theater choreographer uses this line as the title for his work? While watching the piece I kept looking for clues to connect the movie experience to the dance theater experience. But it was only after buying the CD that I understood the disconnection. While before I only had clues for being on a folkloric journey now I had the names of the cities. “After a true story” in Rizzo's piece is about him and his team traveling to different spots of the world in order to learn about traditional folkloric dance. They are the viewers in this case experiencing a true story. In fact the “mise en Scene” points this out. In the right front corner of the stage are placed a chair dropped on it a coat, several books and dark colored orbs on the ground. These objects in my opinion symbolize Rizzo's travels to different cities as the observer, who then returns and tells his “true story”. After two-thirds of the piece these objects are moved away by the dancers again hinting that the pure observation is only one portion of this true story the other being the magnificent interpretation of folkloric dances that took my breath away.