As I was getting ready to write this post on Orchis, I learned the passing of a dear friend, an elder in our family, our beloved Melin ağabey, a gentle soul and a kind man. I dedicate this post to his memory. RIP Melin.
After much rehearsals and tweaking, last night the Festival Ballet Providence production of Agon & Orchis delighted the audience. Agon has worldwide recognition and rightly so for its groundbreaking concept and initial performance in 1957. “Contest,” coming from Greek seems to be the element that drives Agon, but Orchis brings a new dimension to the “contest.”
Born From the Photographs of Dead Flowers, Orchis
The photographs of dead orchid flowers looming larger than life behind the very much alive dancers presented a different kind of contest, between life and death, stillness and movement, and two-dimensional versus three-dimensional. In its power to captivate the audience’s imagination and excite their senses Orchis also entered the contest against the time-honored Agon. If you don’t see this performance you will likely regret it!
As you can imagine, I was delighted to see the dancers with their graceful movements at times echoing the shapes of the flowers and at times reflecting the imagination of the choreographer Viktor Plotnikov. The combination of great choreography, wonderful music by Sonya Belousova, and the inclusion of haunting photographs on that huge screen created a memorable experience for all.
The following photographs are from the “dress” rehearsal on March 7, but most of the costumes for Orchis were still in production. The finished costumes for all the dancers but one are plain grays with dark mottled paint applied to reflect the similar qualities of the photographs. I remember talking about the gray costumes with Toots Zynsky back in June at a meeting, I am glad that Toots and Beth Bentley kept to that idea. There is one special costume you will see in the rehearsal photographs. It resurrects the dead orchid and slowly moves across the stage worn by a suitably tall Dylan Giles.
Blinding Stage Lights!
At the end of the performance, as Misha had asked, I walked backstage and on Misha’s command walked on stage with Beth and Sonya, and took a bow. The stage lights were blinding, I could not see anything beyond the edge of the stage.
As I started to walk to the other side, I turned back and saw Sonya and Beth standing. And, not knowing how to proceed, I slowed down and stopped, and started clapping my hands looking at the line of dancers. As I noticed them walking towards the front it was too late for me to go anywhere, and they were kind enough to open a space for me and I walked with them to take a second bow.
Walking with the full line of dancers was quite special as if I were one of them. However, I must first apologize to all the dancers for fouling up their final bow. Then say thank you for taking me among you. Here are a couple of photographs a friend took and shared of that experience. Thank you, Noreen:
Click on the images to see them larger, uncropped, and read their titles.
Congratulations are due to Kirsten Evans, who got promoted to Company Dancer last night at the reception. See her picture as #4 in the Agon series below.
Here is Agon (Agon choreography by George Balanchine. © The George Balanchine Trust)
Here is Orchis
Dance is Movement
Mike D.
This being my first experience attending a ballet, I didn’t know what to expect. I was amazed with the complexity of dance moves but yet gentle fluid motions making it look so simple and smooth. The Agon program with its classic ballet form was strong and formal, but the Orchis in comparison was more free form and creative. The dual medium of dance and photography of Orchis was a double treat. The compositions of the still images unfolded during the moving performance. It’s not known for sure, but I could have witnessed history. The very first combination of two art forms; ballet and photography, and I was honored and excited to take part.
A. Cemal Ekin
Thanks Mike, I am glad you enjoyed Orchis.