Ballet choreography often sets out to defy gravity or at least hide it from view. Modern dance, on the other hand, tends to acknowledge its inevitable downward trajectory. Trained in both disciplines, Angelin Preljocaj plays with these opposing forces as a commentary on the human condition in Gravité, a 2018 work to be performed in his company’s first appearance in the TITAS/Dance Unbound series in 27 years.
With a pastiche score ranging from Bach, Ravel and Shostakovich to Philip Glass and Daft Punk, the 80-minute piece veers dynamically between kinetic and slow, deliberate movement, a la modern choreography pioneer Merce Cunningham, to study the ways in which ballet toys with gravity.
Founded in 1984, Ballet Preljocaj is now based at a national choreographic center in Aix-en-Provence, France. In that time, its namesake founder and artistic director has made more than 60 works, the extensively touring company of 30 dancers performing 120 shows a year. As TITAS director Charles Santos says in a promotional video, “They bring the cool factor to ballet.”
Details
Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Moody Performance Hall. Tickets at attpac.org.
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