Magrittemania grips Moscow

28 September, 2008, 11:36

A recent ballet performance in Moscow has proved dancers do have passions other than dance. World famous Russian ballet stars are now gripped by “Magrittemania”. The ballet’s creator – outstanding choreographer and former dancer Yury Posokhov – got inspiration in the work of the Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte.

The ballet is set to a modern remix of Beethoven’s symphony number 7 and stars Diana Vishneva, Elena Kuzmina and Yury Smekalov.

Magritte’s paintings frequently display a juxtaposition of ordinary objects in an unusual context, giving new meanings to familiar things. New meanings are given to bowler hats, green apples, men caught in rain, the cloud-filled sky, a huge apple, and covered faces. Posokhov uses the same images and approach in creating the dance.

He creates dramatic plots, movements and expressions and then uses an internal caption or framing device on the background to deny that the event is actually there. His choreography represents visible images which conceal nothing. But at the same time they do not mean anything, because mystery means nothing either – it is unknowable. 

The dancers wore eye-catching costumes. In one segment, they have their faces covered with transparent scarves, which give them a rather ghostly effect. Posokhov portrays the haunting quality of the canvas by reflecting the odd, striking shapes and unusual lifts of the duet. 

The woman is not real. She is not a person the man falls madly in love with.  She is from the same place as the others, she is only an image. Very strange love.

The background designs by Thyra Hartshorn are interesting and catchy. There is no Magritte painting in the background. Hartshorn simply displays backdrop projects using cascades that reflect Magritte’s canvases.

Dramatism is cast throughout the composition by innovative dance movements and the spiritual feelings of the dancers.