New angle on a dance experience
World premiere sees dancers lying on the floor
In the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s upcoming world premiere, audience members will see the dancers from a new angle: lying down on the stage. With its first performance in Santa
Fe of the season July 15, the company brought back Brazilian choreographer Fernando Melo, who they premiered for the first time last season with the show “Re: play.”
His new piece, “Dream Play,” uses video technology to project the movements and shapes the dancers are making while lying on the floor. The camera, positioned on the stage above them and facing downward, is then streamed on a projector for the audience, which sees the dancers from two angles: while they lie on the stage floor and from
the video, which gives the illusion of them standing and dancing upright.
“The audience sees what the performers are doing, how they create the magic, and they see the result of the magic at the same time,” said Melo.
According to artistic director Jean-Phillippe Malaty, the goal of ASFB is to give young, up-andcoming choreographers like Melo the chance to experiment with new ideas. “With Fernando, it’s really about the concept and taking the audience somewhere else,” he said.
Utilizing video as part of a performance is not some-
thing ASFB has done before, said Malaty, but the company enjoyed working with Melo because of his collaborative and innovative processes. He also said the ASFB always wants to give the audience a chance to see something new and creative.
“We believe in moving the art form forward — every time people come to the ballet, they usually see something new,” he said.
Melo, who is currently based in Europe, has been working with the dancers in Aspen for six weeks to create ways to make movements on the floor appear upright. He said that while parts of the show have storylines, he doesn’t want to comment on them in order to give the audience freedom to imagine. Like the rest of his shows, he said, “Dream Play” was made with the audience in mind.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll engage with it and have their own interpretation, ”said Melo.
While the premise of the show is contemporary and experimental with its use of technology, he said the basis of the show is still true to traditional ballet. It’s based on the body and movement, as well as giving the audience a theatrical experience.
“Some movements look very magical, some look very physical,” said Melo. “There’s a lot of struggling [because] it’s difficult on the floor. We embrace that and show it to the audience.”
In addition to “Dream Play,” Saturday’s performance also will include programs previously performed by the company — “Little mortal jump” by Alejandro Cerrudo and “Eudaemonia” by Cherice Barton. The show premiered first in Aspen July 8 and will return to Santa Fe Sept. 2.