Rosas, Bartók/ Mikrokosmos, Sadler's Wells

Thrilling early works of the grande dame of contemporary dance

by Judith FlandersSaturday, 16 April 2011

Rosas in 'Bartók / Mikrokosmos'

Sometimes, watching contemporary dance, you feel that no choreographer has ever known a happy moment – such angst, such grief, such terrible agony rolls over the footlights out to the audience that arriving at the theatre feeling mildly content can seem like an act of subversion. On their last night of this too-short season, however, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Rosas company produced one of her most joyous and enjoyable pieces. For as the choreographer reminds us here, joy, cheerfulness and even sheer good temper are also emotions, and also worth exploring.

What is on display is not merely the choreography itself, but the underpinnings of a company, and of society

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