come, been and gone by Michael Clark
come, been and gone
Choreography by Michael Clark
Music by David Bowie, The Velvet Underground and others
Michael Clark Company
The Lowry, 28 January 2011
Credit: Jake Walters
Never look back; something might be gaining on you. Not absolutely trustworthy advice.
Michael Clark’s work is in three movements and it traces, or so I have been informed, an autobiographical journey. As the titles of the respective movements indicate, it is a journey that ends with renewal, if not unalloyed triumph.
Of time lost and gone (‘been’), we are given dance to the music of The Velvet Underground, notably ‘Venus in Furs’ and Lou Reed’s epic performance of ‘Heroin’, still sounding edgy, dark and amoral as hell after all these years. In the later movements (‘come’ and ‘come again’) Bowie’s work predominates, with the songs ‘Heroes’ and ‘Aladdin Sane’ seeming especially significant.
The dance is extraordinary – it has the vital rhythm of rock and roll (or a certain kind of arty rock) yet a formalism borne of Clark’s love of classical ballet. It is like viewing a gloria duplex in motion, or a fantastical beast like say a griffin or a chimera. I cannot adequately describe it.
One could quite easily come again and again to see this work – and come away once again, renewed and revitalised.
Explore posts in the same categories: Ballet review, Dance reviewTags: come been and gone, David Bowie, Michael Clark, The Velvet Underground
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