A Powerful Depiction of Poverty and Despair
Les Sublimes
Compagnie Hendrik van der Zee
Festival of France, Kennedy Center
Eisenhower Theater
Washington, D.C.
Feb. 19-21, 2004
by
Lisa Traiger
copyright 2004 by Lisa Traiger
published 23 February 2004
In
1904, when Pablo Picasso painted "Les Saltimbanques," he captured
a world-weary sense of isolation. That evocation has become a hallmark
of the malaise infiltrating contemporary society. Picasso's saltimbanques
are circus people: a tall harlequin, a fat clown in a red suit, a young
girl in a tutu, a bare-chested teenage boy, a younger boy and a seated
woman in an oddly perched hat. (The large canvas hangs in the National
Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.) They're not a family in the traditional
sense, but they're bound together even in their despair, their isolation.
They stare out at us from Picasso's barren no-man's-land landscape telling
of the psychological separation of lives lived on the fringes of society.
Guy Alloucherie,
artistic director of Compagnie Hendrick van der Zee, has gathered 11 21st
century saltimbanques into his 85-minute work, Les Sublimes,
an intriguing entry in the month-long Festival of France presented by
the Kennedy Center. Compagnie Hendrick is a collection of eclectic performers,
some circus-trained acrobats, one a trapezist, another an expert in Chinese
pole, maneuvering his body on a single vertical pole. There's a self-taught
juggler and dancer; another trained as a mason before running away to
join the circus. Then there is a classically trained ballerina, for good
measure, and several actors. It's not your typical dance company, in the
least. At the show's end, as they bow, these mismatched bodies and oddly
drawn together personalities, recall the cast and demeanor of Picasso's
circus people, his saltimbanques.
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What's On This Week
February
25-29
Hamburg Ballet
Performing at the Kennedy Center for the first time, the Hamburg Ballet
presents Nijinsky – a ballet which examines the life and
mystery of the legendary artist.
February 25 through 29 at 7:30 p.m.
February 28 and 29 at 1:30 p.m.
Opera House
Kennedy Center
1-800-444-1324
February
26 and 27
Batsheva Dance Company
Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company returns to the Kennedy Center with
the evening-length Deca Dance. It consists of eight dances by
artistic director Ohad Naharin.
February 26 and 27 at 8 p.m.
Eisenhower Theater
Kennedy Center
1-800-444-1324
February
27 and 28
Making Dances/Taking Chances: C. Voltaire
Maryland MFA candidate Zoltan Nagy addresses feminism, expressionism,
religion and materialism, animus and anima in this new full-length work.
February 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Robert and Arlene Kogod Studio Theatre
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
University of Maryland is easy to visit.
Route 193 (University Blvd.) and Stadium Drive
301-405-ARTS
February
27 and 28
Choreographer’s Showcase
Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Arts and Cultural
Heritage Division, presents works selected by nationally known adjudicators.
February 27 and 28 at 8 p.m.
Dance Theatre
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
University of Maryland is easy to visit.
Route 193 (University Blvd.) and Stadium Drive
301-405-ARTS
February
28 and 29
Ronald K. Brown/Evidence
Jazz singer Nina Simone is the inspiration for Ronald K. Brown’s
new work Come Ye. The work is a co-commission and co-presentation
by Dance Place with the National Performance Network, Washington Performing
Arts Society, George Mason University Department of Dance and Hayti Heritage
Center (Durham, NC). Supported in part by the National Endowment for the
Arts.
February 28 at 8 p.m. and February 29 at 4 p.m.
Dance Place
3225 8th St., NE
202-269-1600
—Liz Bartolomeo
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