This year’s Melbourne International Arts Festival has scored a dance coup – with two of the world’s biggest names in contemporary dance.
The program will feature US choreographer William Forsythe’s "A Quiet Evening of Dance" as well as compatriot Mark Morris in a partnership with one of the world’s most famous musicians – Yo-Yo Ma, with Layla and Majnun.
"A Quiet Evening of Dance" is a suite of Forsythe's recent work that showcases the depth and breadth of his practice. DUO2015 began life in 1996 and a renewed version was included in Sylvie Guillem's farewell dance program; it sees two dancers registering the pull of time in spiraling, tumbling brilliance. 2016's Catalogue was created to explore the rich relationship and shared physical understanding of dancers Jill Johnson and Christopher Roman. The remaining works for this evening are 2018 premieres that take viewers right up to the present minute of Forsythe's ever-evolving choreographic history.
The program will be performed by Forsythe regular collaborators Brigel Gjoka, Jill Johnson, Parvaneh Scharafali, Christopher Roman, Riley Watts and Rauf “Rubberlegz” Yasi.
Layla and Majnun is a spectacular Azerbaijani dance opera collaboration between Mark Morris and Ma’s Silkroad Ensemble, a musical group he founded. The opera is based on a Middle-Eastern story of would-be lovers doomed to separation and death. Central to the work are Azerbaijani mugham vocalists, Alim Qasimov and his daughter and protégée Fargana Qasimova, whose vocal commands have earned them rockstar status, including a UNESCO Music Prize, one of the most prestigious international prizes in music. The design is by the late British contemporary artist Howard Hodgkin.
'Layla and Majnun' will be shown exclusively in Melbourne in from October 10 to 13 and 'A Quiet Evening' from October 17 to 20 at Arts Centre Melbourne.
https://www.festival.melbourne/2018/
PHOTO: A scene from 'A Quiet Evening of Dance'. Photo by Bill Cooper.