The place, we guess, is magical: nothing less than Venice! Its Biennale di Danza, in addition to offering great shows, builds a bridge between the historical heritage of the city and contemporary dance. To the delight of the spectators, who sail from the Arsenal to the Malibran Theater. The artistic direction of this dance festival goes to Wayne McGregor. The event came to a climax with two very different but equally thrilling shows: Pontus Lidberg and his search for intimacy, and Tao Ye in his quest for the purest aesthetic.
The work of Pontus Lidberg, which was presented in the depths of the Arsenal, at the heart of the biennial on architecture, is very surprising. With On the nature of Rabbits the program more aptly subtitles “Sia l’uno che l’altro, e fra l’uno e l’altro” (literally “be one like the other and between the two” ), we guessed that the Swedish choreographer would play on the contrast between two forms. One, didactic, and the other, physical and above all more carnal. Pontus Lidberg opens up to us the two worlds of a man who is one day this and the next day that. And it is obviously the hidden face of the human being that is the most poignant. As always in dance, body and gesture express the deepest part of being. Here, Pontus Lidberg himself dances long duets with an incredible dancer, Damiano Artale, who combines feline and masculinity. The marriage that arises from this dialogue of bodies and such contrasting gestures provokes emotions of rare intensity. These pas de deux, which certainly concentrate the essence of this piece, could also make a show in their own right. Fans of the choreographer will note the kinship of this work with the previous pas de deux created last year, and performed with Paulo Arrais, the superb star dancer of the Boston ballet.
Change of decor and style with Tao Ye, winner of the Silver Lion in Venice (the Golden Lion was awarded to Simone Forti, an Italian who immigrated to Switzerland and then to the United States before the war to flee the Nazis, to the whole of a career that she devoted to choreography and plastic art).
This Chinese choreographer, who came with his group the Tao Dance Theater which he founded at the age of 23, took over the Malibran theatre, a superb little Italian-style hall. He presented there a very disconcerting work “11” from a series entitled “Numerical Series”. Both very cold and very aesthetic, it sometimes takes the viewer upside down with moments of rare violence. All black and white costumes emphasize the very geometric variations of the groups of dancers arranged in lines. The visual effect is impressive, although you have to be placed right in the center of the floor to make the most of it. As if Tao had wanted only one third of the spectators can judge his work at its fair value.
This Biennale di Danza, which publishes an important catalog of 500 pages to keep for each edition, has invited very big names in dance to Venice, from Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, to William Forsythe and Rachid Ouramdane. 150 artists in total and, for this 2023 version, more than 10,000 paying spectators. The Biennale is finally regaining its pre-Covid luster.
