Saturday, November 14, 2009
Review: Wise choices make 'Light: The Holocaust' compelling dance
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Choreographer Stephen Mills attempts the impossible, to deal with the incomprehensible, in his 'Light: The Holocaust & Humanity Project' that Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre presented Thursday night. Performances continue through Sunday."
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6 comments:
When I saw the print ad's for this I considered whether I wanted to see it. The holocaust is a tough topic to tackle in art or conversation and Ballet is not always the easiest medium to work with. Then again if you can make an opera about burning man then I guess you can make a ballet about the holocaust. I'm glad to hear that its affecting and I'll more seriously consider seeing it.
this article really makes me want to see "light" because im really curious how the choreographer integrated the persepective he derived from speaking with holocaust victims to choreograph this show, its great the mills was able to create such a original and beautiful show from such an unfortunate historical event and it would be really cool to see how the story is told through ballet
I'm so disappointed i missed this! I remember hearing a bit about it, but i didn't follow up on it. This article seems to bring out the greater points of the show, and from what is written it seems as if it was incredible. What i find particularly interesting is the decision to separate the Nazis from the show. What a fantastic way to approach the situation. Too often when one places blame, one forgets what the real issue is, assuming that we would never do things like that, that its THEIR fault, and that puts a rest to the subject. By simply viewing the victims, its much harder to forget.
The different dances, although briefly explained, seemed moving and well thought out. However, I wonder if they had as great an impact as was hoped for.
First off, the journalist claims that the Holocaust is something that is rarely thought about. If that is true than how come it is one of longest topics covered in modern history and how come I cannot count on two hands and two feet that number of documentaries, films, books, and exhibits there are out there that discuss it? The holocaust is still an unbelievable tragedy today that people cannot stop thinking about it so they produce works about it to continue to spread the message of history's mistakes. There is nothing new about a Holocaust story in entertainment. However, I will admit that Ballet and Holocaust are a surprise. Ballet has always covered tragedies but never that were so real as this. I have not seen the show but the amount of detail that the article said went into it and the creative, abstract approach may make it worth a gander, especially as a piece of art and not a story. It must have been a ground breaking production and it's exciting to have it happen here in Pittsburgh.
I am really upset I couldn't fit this performance into my schedule. To represent a historical event that has such emotional weight is always a challenge. I think that by using dance as a medium for the message, they were able to connect to audience on a more cathartic level. There are some things that cannot be expressed with words, and movement of the body can really relate what is trying to be said.
As everyone has somewhat said, this is one of those headlines that I read and sort of think...wait...really...? But it looks like it's been really well thought out and beautifully portrayed. This isn't something you just randomly decide to make into a ballet. It should take a lot of time and thought, because it's such a sensitive topic. I never saw Titanic the Musical...but that was one of those touchy subjects that sounded absolutely RIDICULOUS to make into a musical. So I'm hoping this one is carried out with a bit more sensitivity...and from what everyone is saying about it it really seems like it was.
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