Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart L-E-V (Israel)

Joe Szekeres

A sultry and sexy pulsating entity of dance and music

Please note I hold no background or education in the study of dance and movement. I will comment on the theatricality of the piece.

When dance and movement synchronously gel harmoniously in time with and to the music, hot damn.

This is exactly what I felt after watching and pondering what had just played out before me in ‘Chapter 3: Journey of the Heart’. L-E-V (Israel) I allowed myself to be carried away with the music, the sound, and the dance movement. I believe there are Chapters 1 and 2 which I have not seen, but that didn’t matter to me at all as I still respected and admired the sinewy motions of contemporary dance.

The following program quotation from Hanya Yanagihara, author of Little Life, offered me some insight into what my guest and I were about to see:

“Things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.”

An interesting thought when ‘the heart’ is connected to this quotation. Our hearts are broken and can be repaired through life’s re-arrangements. The six dancers’ costumes designed by Christian Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri resembled full body tattoos emblazoned with one bright red bleeding heart. Later my young guest, who wanted to learn more about review writing, remarked how she was reminded for her that the continued repetitive and pulsating movement of the dancers became the nervous system surrounding the heart.

What an interesting introspection.

We sat in the balcony, and I was thankful for that opportunity as I knew this vantage would allow me to pay close attention to the precisely sinewed and fascinating geometric choreographed movements and images by Sharon Eyal.

Usually when I attend dance pieces, I often wonder how said production will arrest my attention. Most that I have attended over the last several years have had minimal to no set pieces as the focus must be placed on the art of dance. ‘Chapter 3’ was no exception as it was a closed curtain upon entering the Fleck Dance Theatre auditorium. Whether it was intentional or not, I noticed a smoky haze that hung around the ceiling that I thought was a nice touch as there was no pre-show musical soundscape. This slightly smoky atmosphere did make me buy into the fact that I would enter another reality.

And for 55 minutes, I was indeed transported to another reality, sometimes hypnotic, sometimes fascinating, sometimes erotic but always engaging.

Final Comments: Three curtain calls for this fine company of dancers made the welcome back to Harbourfront Centre’s Fleck Dance Theatre even more special.

“A hypnotically fascinating journey of dance and music.”

Running time: approximately 55 minutes with no intermission.

Performance continues March 5 at 7:30 pm at Harbourfront Centre’s Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay West.

For tickets, visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

CHAPTER 3: THE BRUTAL JOURNEY OF THE HEART L-E-V (Israel)
Part of Torque 21/22
International Contemporary Dance
Dancers: Clyde Emmanuel Archer, Darren Devaney, Edit Domoszlai, Guido Dutlih, Dana Pararillaga, Keren Luire Pardes
Creator: Sharon Eyal
Co-Creator: Gai Behar
Music: Ori Lichtik
Costumes: Maria Grazi Chiuri – Christian Dior Couture
Lighting Design/Technical Director: Yair Salman

Photo: Stefan Dotter