• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Photo

  UCLA Performing Arts Eye-catching visuals complement the high energy of the Angelin Preljocaj-choreographed "Paysage Apres La Bataille (Landscape After the Battle)".

By Kelsey McConnell

Daily Bruin Contributor

Ballet Preljocaj’s “Paysage Apres la Bataille (Landscape After the Battle),” premiering in Royce Hall

Friday night, is an experimental blend of the paintings of artist/theorist/iconoclast Marcel Duchamp and the fiction of writer Joseph Conrad.

“At the beginning my idea was to know what part of instinct or intelligence created art,” said Ballet Preljocaj’s founder and Artistic Director Angelin Preljocaj. “To symbolize intelligence the best person would be Duchamp, and for the instinct I really like Conrad.”

Duchamp is perhaps best known for his philosophy that the audience’s reaction has as much effect on the meaning of a work of art as the artist’s intention.

“I think art is not a scripture or a piece of music or a picture on the wall,” Preljocaj said. “Art is the relationship between the person looking and the piece. When the museum is closed, the art is dead.”

In “Paysage Apres La Bataille,” this intellectual theory of art is juxtaposed with Conrad’s ode to the brutality of instinct, the novella “Heart of Darkness.”

  UCLA Performing Arts In one of its first U.S. appearances, Ballet Preljocaj will perform at Royce Hall on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m.

“Heart of Darkness” draws on Conrad’s own experience at sea, in its telling of a British sailor’s excursions through the dark, unexplored continent of Africa and the tribal peoples he befriended there.

“I wanted to invent an imaginary meeting between the two (Duchamp and Conrad),” Preljocaj said.

At the beginning of the performance, the audience glimpses the result of this meeting.

The rest of the ballet explores the origins of human creativity with its physical intensity and inventive production. Faux neon-hued animal furs adorn the backdrop, while center stage becomes a clearing for the dancers to confront their primal desires and test the intellect of men and women.

The choreography pushes human boundaries with the sensual and extreme motion characteristic of Preljocaj.

“I try always to see if I can go to the limit,” Preljocaj said. “One of the interests of modern dance is that the body is very open and flexible in its possibility.”

Preljocaj makes the most of this versatility with choreography, moving from the romantic sway of closely held couples to men in gorilla suits dancing like apes to a gymnastic game of musical chairs and later, polar bears chastising a pair of lovers.

The motivation and intense physicality of the piece is not the only thing that makes it original, however. Goran Vejvoda’s computer score includes a montage of interviews with Duchamp, commentary in several languages, popular songs of the past, and radio, music and voice overs.

“I think modern dance has to be very rooted in the time,” Preljocaj said. “Music gives energy to the dancers and this music is the energy of the time, and the ambiance gives a good mood to the piece.”

The Los Angeles premiere of “Paysage Apres La Bataille” is one of the first performances of the piece in the United States. Preljocaj was pleased with the European reception to his newest creation.

“I think, globally, people understand that my point of view was to make an interrogation,” he said. “I hope American people will catch the sensitivity of the piece.”

Preljocaj himself has long been a prominent member of the modern dance world.

After studying classical dance, Preljocaj worked in New York in the early ’80s and then founded his own company in 1984. His early work with the company won him the Ministry of Culture Prize and he has received accolades for his artistic achievements ever since. Most recently promoted to Chevalier of Legion of Honour, Preljocaj is currently Europe’s most commissioned choreographer.

Even after these commendations and 20 of choreographing, Preljocaj still hopes to bring something new to the audience with “Paysage Apres la Bataille.”

“What’s important to me with ‘Paysage’ is the perception of the body’s animal instinct versus computer intelligence,” Preljocaj said. “I hope that people see my work because I try to exist in my work.”

DANCE: Ballet Preljocaj performs at Royce Hall on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m. For ticketing information, contact the Central Ticket Office at (310) 825-210.