Australian Ballet, Arts Centre, MelbourneLong lines of dancers jitter like marionettes and the principal artists shine in this bold Dutch work that thrums with a dark energy
Photograph: Jeff BusbyPhotograph: Jeff Busbyabinets of curiosities were all the rage in the 18th century; before modern museums existed, private collections of natural phenomena were the true markers of status. One of the largest belonged to Albertus Seba, a Dutch pharmacist and zoologist. He eventually published a four-volume book, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, a stunning, exhaustively detailed document of exotica that became a touchstone of taxonomy and symbol of the Enlightenment.
‘León and Lightfoot’s dense choreographic language is worlds away from the demands of traditional ballet – but it also feels completely innate, as if contemporary dance were this company’s natural home.’Tempting though it is to catalogue the various choreographers’ stylistic quirks, Kunstkamer actually works best when viewed as a cohesive whole, a meditation on connectivity and our desire for meaning.
So much of the movement, especially in the first act, is jittery and jagged, the dancers’ elegant lines interrupted by angular extremities – a turned-out foot or a tilted head. Hands are constantly flitting around the upper body, before slapping down hard on the outer thigh. Animals are evoked, either directly or obliquely, but even here organic movements are stymied, contracted. It’s really only in the second act that the choreography loosens, allowing for some heart-wrenching romanticism.