Are you homesick? Whatever the term may mean to you: In the ballet hall in Chemnitz, young dancers follow it – only centimeters away from us spectators.
If you’re homesick right now, for a place from the past, for a person or for a feeling, maybe you shouldn’t go to this performance. There are moments that let melancholy seep into your heart like lead. Especially at the beginning. Three dancers and one dancer on stage, with very quiet, very minimalistic movements. The hands in particular move, as if they had to handle something precious carefully, protect it. a little bird? An empty birdcage as a prop fuels the association. Or a little feeling of home? One of the dancers lies on the floor tied to a rope, is pulled by the dancer, then struggles forward again. Does home bind us? Or homesickness? So many questions.
You can’t get any closer to the dancers
The dance piece “Home” had its premiere on Thursday evening in the ballet hall of the Chemnitz Opera House. It is the sixth edition of the “Showcase” series for contemporary dance. What’s special is that the audience can go behind the scenes here, they sit in a row around the rehearsal hall, closer to the dancers and dance than anywhere else – you can see the band-aids on the toes of the battered dancing feet. Guest choreographers develop the pieces for this series, this time the piece comes from the Israeli choreographer Yaron Shamir – and the “Juniors” of the Chemnitz Ballet dance, young people who, as is usual in ballet ensembles, come from different countries. A great template for a choreographer, and so Yaron Shamir went in search of “home” in his piece, exploring their own ideas and emotions with the dancers. How unsafe do you feel in a foreign country? How much do you value home?
The lost feeling of home
Angelica Bistarelli, who comes from Italy, completed her training at the Palucca University of Applied Sciences in Dresden and has now started her engagement as a dancer with the Chemnitz Ballet. Lucía Alfaro Córcoles, who was born in Spain and graduated from the Berlin State Ballet School, is now a member of the Chemnitz Ballet. Tim Hutsch, a student at the Palucca School, is completing his internship in Chemnitz this season, as is Darcie Ridder, a graduate of the ballet school of the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier. “Going abroad to follow my dreams, to leave what was my home for many years, was a shock for me,” Angelica Bistarelli is quoted in the program booklet as saying, “I lost the feeling of home.”
Swept across the dance floor
Whether it’s a lost feeling of home, the search for home or a very strong sense of home – all of this can arouse quite a number of reactions: rebellion and struggle, devotion and joy, repentance and departure. After the quiet beginning, the small group of dancers literally explodes and sweeps across the dance floor so that it vibrates under the viewers’ winter boots. Solo, in sync, drifting apart, reuniting. They jump, turn and bend, roll and crawl at breakneck speed. An exciting back and forth, it captivates the gaze.
The hour passed too quickly. It’s worth going. Without homesickness – but also with.
The next performances of “Home” in the ballet hall of the Chemnitz Opera House will take place on February 4th, 18th and 26th. » theater-chemnitz.de