We live in an era of never-ending entertainment, mediated by the screens surrounding us constantly. Choré, performed this weekend by Les Ballets de Monte Carlo at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts and choreographed by Artistic Director Jean-Christophe Maillot, sent me back in time to the beginnings of the Hollywood musical film, with its roots in social dance and pantomime, and it was as all-consuming, addictive, and provocative as today’s media. The 2013 ballet, in its American premiere, was separated into five sections that put the audience in the dancing shoes of Hollywood’s melancholy, absurd, and at times violent side. We were given a behind-the-scenes look at the effect of horrors of the period–specifically Hiroshima and the horrors of World War II–on its entertainment. Set to music by various artists, including Danny Elfman, John Cage, and an original composition by long-time company collaborator and Jean-Christophe’s brother Bertrand Maillot, the 75-minute dance flashed before our eyes. Among the first four sections, each was equally as memorable as the others and as essential to the whole. As for the last, titled ‘After dance, there is yet more dance,’ the darkness subsided completely and abruptly, erupting after a full-company bow into a […]
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