‘Contemporary 4’ Brings Ballet’s Future to the Stage

Chalnessa Eames and Josh Spell in Paul Gibson’s The Piano Dance

Over the weekend, Pacific Northwest Ballet opened Contemporary 4, giving audiences a look at work from four current big-name choreographers shaping the future of dance, including the world premiere of Marco Goecke’s Place a Chill. Three of the four pieces were comfortably balletic in nature, while Goeke’s selection added a refreshing jolt of experimental movement. All of the works were abstract, and appealed more to emotional sensibility than presenting a clear narrative.

The program opened with Mark Morris’ Pacific, a rather tame piece full of round, organic movement (repeatedly curved legs and arms, bodies rocking to the side, pendulum-like) set to Lou Harrison’s Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, the heavy music from the piano underscoring the slow development of the moves in several of the sections. Dancers, both men and women, were outfitted in long, flowing, skirt-like culottes in green, blue and red that fanned with every kick, pirouette and leap, the green dancers’ costumes hinting at seaweed, likely a purposeful choice given the name of the piece.

In stark contrast to the languid movement of the first section, Goeke’s Place a Chill was full of frenetic motion, the least balletic of the four selections. Dancers moved around the stage, their arms in constant, hurried motion, seemingly uncontrollable, save the fact that they performed in synch. The darkness of the stage coupled with twitching hands reaching arms and hunched backs projected a similarity to the scurrying movement of insects under a log when their habitat is displaced. Arms folded at the elbow suggest wings, and the reaching motions as dancers unfolded from their concave cores and rounded shoulders insinuated emergence from cocoons. 

Pacific Northwest Ballet corps de ballet dancers Ezra Thomson and Margaret Mullin in Marco Goecke’s Place a Chill. 

The Piano Dance, choreographed by Paul Gibson, incorporated the most classical ballet. Beginning with the stunning image of black silhouettes against a violent red background (the same color as the performers’ costumes), The Piano Dance consisted of ten solo piano works from five composers (including Frederic Chopin, John Cage and Bela Bartok) and the dancers performed in solos, duets and a pas de trois. The allegro sections were full of strength and motion: leaps, grand jetés, assembles, and chaine turns. In one particularly passionate adagio duet the female dancer drapes her body against her partner (who is standing behind her) and he reaches up under her arm to rest his hand tenderly on her cheek before fading away into the shadows. When he is gone she reaches up and touches her cheek in remembrance.

A playful, carnival atmosphere inhabits the stage for the PNB premiere of former Bolshoi Ballet artistic director Alexi Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH. Full of visible emotional states including loneliness, anger, love, jealously, and joy, Ratamansky approaches narrative, but leaves the performance open-ended enough to allow an audience their own interpretation (and there are certainly more than a few). A central couple (Karel Cruz and Carla Körbes) appear as lovers, dancing a gorgeous duet full of lifts that look effortless. Cruz and Körbes smoothly allow each other to lead in intervals, neither emerging as the dominant partner, a rarity in relationships. In the first and third sections, surrounding the wistful duet, the corps de ballet, divided into seven sets of couples, carouses in a playful fashion; dancers roll, jump, leap and summersault around the stage. There are moments where all 19 performers fill the stage, their bright orange, red and blue costumes and quirky,theatrical interactions (coupled with the light, joyous piano music) creating a circus of movement. Ratamansky's piece is the most accessible, with clear displays of emotion (highlighted by facial expressions) reflecting off-stage sentiments experienced in the real world. 

All the works of Contemporary 4 are choreographed to make an emotional impact. Whether it’s awe and connection, or discomfort and repulsion, the lack of structured narrative (a hallmark on contemporary dance) allows for a gamut of reactions not tethered to the traditional storylines of many classical ballets. Even though Goeke’s premiere stands out for its bold visual differences, there is no doubt that each choreographer’s visionary talents will provide important works in the shifting landscape of contemporary dance, embracing the tradition of classical ballet while allowing emotions to form the stories.   

Contemporary 4 runs through March 27. Tickets available here. 

Images taken by Angela Sterling. Courtesy of Pacific Northwest Ballet.