photo: Gert Weigelt
* note
Hosted by the German embassy, celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations with Israel, 'Ballet am Rhein Dusseldorf Duisburg' performed A German Requiem, by Martin Schlapfer.
The work, based on Johannes Brahms creation, enjoyed large cast of about 40 well trained dancers, conveying Schlapfer's sensitivities.
The tightly constructed requiem supplied a great structural guideline which allowed the dance smooth progression between various inner landscapes, based on the 19th century composer's intentions and the contemporary choreographer's personal interpretations.
In a way, the work relied on the music and the accompanying text to carry most of the rich and complex thematic and emotional content, while the dancing kept some distance from overtly dramatic expressions, trying to portray more abstract objectivity. The large formations of dancers offered more regimented approach, yet often allowed space for slight personal variation and expression, mainly in the more intimate scenes and few solos.
The piece had several elements going for it, besides the touching and rather solid, optimistic music- considering it is a requiem after all- which deals in mourning and lamentations in the context of Christian culture. The dance was framed by a somber, elegantly proportioned stage design, with clever and tasteful lighting design. Both managed to enrich the ambience and often clarify it.
Just the fact that there were often three dozen or more dancers on stage strengthened the effect of any large choreographic composition, particularly on the more simplistic dramatic highlights; just standing still and raising the hands to the sky, or forming a long serpentine line. 
But large crowds couldn't do all the work. The dance, though finely detailed, carried strong mid twentieth century conservative air of early modernity, while the lexicon remained on the safer side of this art form. The result was respectfully decent, but lacked sparks of arousing, original ingenuity.
In the end scene, the dancers were sitting, while cables with end loops came down and before we could guess their purpose, one dancer got noosed and pulled upward to the horror of the dancers and audience. While she was saved, the curtain went down, on the single most dramatic moment of the evening.
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* First published in Jerusalem Post, 22/10/15