The groundbreaking British choreographer's contemporary ballet is full of sensory surprises: sumptuous movement, a driving score by Joby Talbot with orchestrations of songs by The White Stripes, and a luminous set by minimalist architect John Pawson.
“Often in my own choreographies I have actively conspired to disrupt the spaces in which the body performs. Each intervention, usually some kind of addition, is an attempt to see the context of the body in a new or alien way. On reading John Pawson’s Minimum I was captivated by this notion of subtraction, the ‘essential’ space, which seems to reduce elements to make visible the invisible. Intriguingly, although Pawson’s designs do give definition to space(s), they are somehow always boundary-less. This potential ‘freedom space’ would be an extraordinary environment for a new choreography, where the grammar and articulation of the body is made crystal clear, graphic and unmediated. It could be a space where the body becomes absolutely architectural. At the same time, in creating volume(s) of tone for the choreography to inhabit the body can behave as a frequency of colour – in freedom from white: CHROMA.
“I heard Joby Talbot’s Hovercraft piece for orchestra and felt its immediate physical impact – visceral, unsettling, hungry and direct. These short five minutes became our keystone to unlocking a strangely seductive score that tensions the aggressive force of the White Stripes with the enigmatic beauty of Talbot’s own compositions.” -Wayne McGregor
“Aluminum,”* “Cloudpark,”** “The Hardest Button to Button,”* “Blue Orchid,”* “'...a yellow disc rising from the sea...’,”** “Transit of Venus,”** and “Hovercraft.”**
*Music composed by Jack White. Published by Peppermint Stripe Music/EMI Music Publishing Limited.
New arrangement by Joby Talbot and orchestration by Christopher Austin. By arrangement with Novello & Company Limited on behalf of EMI Music Publishing Limted.
**Music composed and Arranged by Joby Talbot. Published by Chester Music Limited. By arrangement with Chester Music Limited.