Nacho Duato’s Compañía de Danza greatly deserved a standing ovation after their first night performing in Seattle. With a sold out show, the company performed three of his breathtaking pieces and only left the audience wanting more.
Based in Spain, Duato began directing the company in June of 1990. He has not transformed the company to capture the contemporary side of ballet, but has brought energy, passion, and a unique character to all of his works.
I have never seen dancers travel and move through space like the men did in the all male piece, Castrati. Even from the balcony you could see their muscularity and power, but as high or as far they jumped, they still never made a sound. However, in the Moroccan influenced piece Gnawa, in continuation of Duato’s Mediterrania, the men and women came out grounded and ready to make some noise. With a few slaps against the stage floor, the dancers expressed the use of song, dance, and rituals as they moved to Spanish and North African sounds; yet the moment of “silence” was the most beautiful. The only light on stage was from the candles which the dancers held, as they walked to set them on the front of the stage. The single sound was the trickling water which quietly flowed from the speakers. Absolutely stunning.
The most memorable of them all was the finale, White Darkness. Duato presented a jaw dropping message about the devastating emotional and physical effects of drug addiction; and was successful connecting such a powerful message to the audience through movement. The partnering, flow of movement, and the connection/support grew stronger as the dancers’ were trapped by “cocaine” in every corner of the stage. It ended with a reality check; weakened and alone, a dancer was surrounded in her own addiction with the white powdery substance that fell from above. Beautiful, but ugly.
