[ Cancelled ] A Quiet Evening of Dance

In A Quiet Evening of Dance, William Forsythe produces a wonderful work that explores the history of academic danceall the way back to where it started inthe court ballet during the reign of Louis XIV. The American choreographer startsby breaking it down and setting out the principles and bases of the classical technique. Yet there is nothing dry in this précis of dance because introducing a twist here, a flowing dynamic there and some intense stretching, Forsythe and his performers bring a contemporary vitality and seduction to this ancient language.The culmination of a divertimento synthesising the Grand Siècle and the 21st century, in this new work set to music by Jean-Philippe Rameau Seventeen/Twenty- One meticulously combines elements of baroque dance and evolve, a particularly acrobatic hip hop style. In this quiet evening of dance – clear and complex, sophisticated yet comprehensible, refined to the point of being instinctive – Forsythe shares the quintessential nature of his art : a “belle danse” packed with intelligence and enjoyment.