The Statement. Photo: Tristram Kenton.
The Statement is a piece that plastically – but also thoughtfully – presents an image of reality, through gesture-based choreographic choices that shape the action into a scene with which the audience can easily identify. It is simple and clear, with outstanding choices of vocabulary. The movement is often sensitive and soft, but at the same time precise, and highly focused on details.
The dancers follow a spoken narrative written by Pite's collaborator Jonathon Young. Text and dance intertwine almost imperceptibly, making you wonder if the movement follows the narrative, or vice versa. The narrative itself is turned into a physical explanation, and this ‘on the record, off the record’ backroom meeting play elegantly touches on gestures of guilt, fear, worry, anger, as well as hierarchy.
A minimal setting and four dancers in suits work perfectly together, bringing Pite's idea to life and provoking underlying questions about people’s conflicting moralities to surface. She speaks loudly, yet the voice is somehow distant. It makes one ask onerself: What is the power of art in reflecting truth?
Review written during the workshop Writing about dance (in the Times of Corona), organised by Dance and Performing Arts Criticism in Europe, supported by EEA Grants 2014-2021.
The Statement
Choreography: Crystal Pite
Dramaturgy: Jonathan Young
Music: Owen Belton
Vocal performance: Meg Roe, Colleen Wheeler, Andrew Wheeler, Jonathan Young
Dance: Aram Hasler, Rena Narumi, Roger Van der Poel a Jon Bond
Lighting design: Tom Visser
Set design: Jay Gower Taylor
Costumes: Crystal Pite / Joke Visser
World premiere: 4. 2. 2016, Zuiderstrandtheater, Haag
Recorded in 2018, co-production of Mezzo and La Belle Télé, directed by Tommy Pascal
Josef Bartos
Thank you for your thoughts. One got stuck in my mind – that passion makes us different from AI. Just yesterday I read…I am a dance critic. I am a member of an endangered species