Christian Lollike & Tim Matiakis:
”The Vampire Revolution”
A coproduction of Sort/Hvid & Corpus
A-Salen, Royal Danish Ballet
January 27, 2018
Corpus’ greatest hit “I Føling” based on Danish wounded warriors experiences in the Afghan wars was a cocreation with Christian Lollike and Sort/Hvid. At that time, Corpus was a company in the company where the RDB ensample participated. The inhouse company was run then by Tim Matiakis and Esther Lee Wilkinson, who co-choreographed most of the production.
Last year, it was decided to change Corpus to an independent company with Tim Matiakis as artistic director for a team of six dancers. It was planned that the group should include three dancers from the company and three dancers from outside. However, only RDB Soloist Alexander Stæger opted for the new Corpus. Most of the ensemble therefore consists of foreign dancers.
Limited Resourses
Reviewing the productions by Corpus in their first season as an independent company, certain issues become very clear. First of all the realization that six dancers is too low a number to constitute an ensemble. In two of the productions I have seen, the number was even lower, because a dancer was out with an injury or disease. Having only six dancers, the performances remains very short and relatively slow.
This is serious limitations for a company trying to build an audience base.
It was easy to expect that a new production with Sort/Hvid and Christian Lollike would be a smash hit based on the success of “I Føling”. However, “The Vampire Revolution” did not live up to the expectations.
The frame of the production is a manifest for changing the world by a revolution. It is a naïve concept, stating that changing the political system, will cure climate changes e.g. It also expect a self-sacrifice etc.
Dancevise there is very little content. They sing, they shout, they strip of their clothes, they suffers, they wave a flag, they cover Alexander Stæger in red paint, they make a collection, but they never present anything in a dance form.
Over the lasts years, RDB have been subject to several financial cut downs. A few months ago, it was published that our outstanding young choreographer Oliver Marcus Starpov would get the change to create a new ballet for the upcoming festival, because Kim Brandstrup has withdrawn due to a scheduling conflict. However, it was recently published, that the Starpov ballet is postponed to next season. Instead, the festival audience can look forward to a mixed standard program and a glass of champagne.
It definitely raises the question, whether the RDB should focus more on the talents in the ensemble, who already has proved their originality and high level or continue the Corpus project.
Corpus is struggling to make interesting productions on a shoestring budget and a too small ensemble. Save a few productions, choreographed by strong professional choreographers like Jo Strømgreen on the RDB dancers, there has been little to cheer on. If Corpus should survieve, it will demand a much larger budget and ensemble and stronger choreographers.
Why not use the budget on the real talents?
Photo copyright(c) Sort/Hvid and Corpus.
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