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| Hans van Manen Choreographer |
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| At Play |
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| Van Manen's 1997 ``Solo'' is actually a string of solos for a trio of men, danced to Sigiswald Kuijken's amplified recording of Bach's Suite for Violin in D Minor. It is stunning. Traditions often clash in this Dutchman's choreography, and ``Solo'' proved no exception: Balanchine's musicality, Petit's insouciance and Robbins' dramatic flair somehow come together and set out to delight. Both speed and direction change suddenly, new lines seem to grow in counterpoint around Bach's violin, the men compete with one another in virtuosity and the atmosphere is as charged as in the tightest Olympic race./ Review 1999 |
| Speaking of music, one�s affinity for van Manen�s Grosse Fuge - created for Nederlands Dans Theater in 1971 and staged in San Francisco by Mea Venema - depends on how sacrosanct you hold Beethoven�s mammoth Grosse Fuge for string quartet (heard here in an unattributed arrangement for string orchestra) and the sublime Cavatina from the composer�s Op. 130 string quartet. The veteran Dutch choreographer, apparently, holds no scruples.
The first part of this annoying piece offers four bare-chested men (Smith, Martin, Gonzalo Garcia and Stephen Legate) in long black skirts, underlining Beethoven�s fugal scheme. Halfway through, the women (Diana, Zahorian, Katita Waldo and Lorena Feijoo) enter. That van Manen responds to this dense score with sweeping extensions and sculptural tableaux speaks ill of his musical sensitivity. Worse is the second part, in which the men strip down to Speedos and the women hook their hands on the guys� waists and allow themselves to be dragged around - all this to one of the more serene musical episodes in the Western canon./ Review 2004 |
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| Setting music loaded with established cultural associations affords multiple opportunities for disaster. Sometimes, however, a clever choreographer who assumes a high level of musical sophistication in an audience can have a good deal of fun with a score. In the final section of his "Black Cake," also part of the Ballet gala, Hans Van Manen used the "Meditation" from Massenet's opera "Thais" for an ensemble drunk scene. It was amusing, but it was even more amusing if you knew that Massenet uses this music to describe a religious conversion. You can bet that Van Manen knows./ Story |
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