Provocation and Nudity or 4+4 Days in Motion Festival

The choreographer’s courage is admirable, as well as the dancers’. They go out on a limb. They are not ashamed of their imperfections, on the contrary, they emphasise them and build some humorous passages on them. Shock therapy, provocation and hard work paid off. In my opinion, the performance was an extraordinary. Never-ending jumps Another very important piece presented within the 4+4 Days in Motion festival was The Dog Days Are Over, in which the only element was jumping. Jumping to death. A break comes only after an hour of work. For the first fifteen minutes you can see nothing more but eight “dancers”, doing two-footed jumps without any sign of boredom. After five minutes you wish to cry out: ‘What’s that?’ After ten minutes: ‘ENOUGH!’ and after fifteen minutes you want to leave. All you can do was to watch the dancer’s unalterable facial expressions, brand shoes and sweating till they are soaking wet. The repetitive movement makes the audience dizzy and sick. And then – a change! Mathematic combinations and changing positions – interesting at first sight but not stunning. Still, it is a change, thanks God. The performers look less exhausted than the audience and to watch them for an hour, without even noticing that they are working incredibly hard, is actually very absorbing. We have to admire the jumping dancers. It is not until the show is over that we realise its originality. Choreographers and dancers have the power to decide what the spectator watches. When you buy a ticket for a performance, you have no other choice. What function does contemporary dance fulfil for today’s audience? They want entertainment or art? Or both……? Male element The DOT504 dance company presented the world premiere of Jozef Fruček and Linda Kapetanea’s piece entitled Collective Loss of Memory – it deals with male issues, especially fight, brutality and male power. The piece resembles a sad collage, for two reasons: because of its subject and its composition. It does not always make sense. Maybe just a few people have the idea what the physically challenging routine suggests. Is it the metaphor of aggression or display of male power? We all know men are stronger. But were they really made for fighting? For the eternal struggle with their partners, colleagues or pals? What does the piece want to point out? Is it violence in the world, men’s unbalanced existence caused by the sudden need to look for their role in the modern era where a woman becomes an equal partner? Many question but very few answers. The final video projection shows a man brutally attacked in the street. What the meaning of such a scene might be, especially if it is not connected with the action on stage, remains one of the cloudy questions with no reply. The choreography can boast of really great performances of all the five male dancers (Nathan Jardin, Joona Kaakinen, Knut Vikström Precht, Dano Raček a Tom Weksler). The basic element is ‘contact’ – physical as well as eye one. The dancers work in a group but also individually. The group phrases possess incredible energy as the male ego goes forward and makes it clear whymen were sent to the world. The fight, but also hints of embraces and consoling gives a new dimension to the message. Acrobatic elements refer to playfulness, courage, hard work, assiduity and mutual confidence.