Ballet National de Marseille: The Truth 25 Times a Second, Perth International Arts Festival -
Heath Ledger Theatre, 8 February 2013 -
The Truth 25 Times a Second was created in 2010 by Belgian-born Frédéric Flamand, director of Ballet National de Marseille since 2004 and Chinese visual artist Ai Weiwei. It was a Perth Festival “Australian Exclusive”.
Ai Weiwei is one of China's most high profile international artists and he acted as a design consultant for Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” Olympic Stadium. He is also a prominent human rights advocate and one of China’s most outspoken domestic critics. Understandably, Ai Weiwei’s creative connection to The Truth 25 Times a Second generated much hype, media interest and publicity for the four performances programmed for Perth. Expectations were therefore very high.
The starting point for the work was Italo Calvino’s whimsical novel The Baron In the Trees which tells of a young boy who, after arguing with his father, chooses to spend the rest of his days in the treetops. Flamand and Ai Weiwei have said that their interpretation should be seen as “a metaphor for modernity and the challenge of individuals to distinguish their real selves in the face of a reality-distorting virtual existence”.
Ai Weiwei’s cleverly designed industrial landscape of suspended aluminium ladders (instead of trees), hinges, hooks, pulleys, harnesses and cables provided the setting for twenty or so short scenes employing a mix of dance, music and audio-visual genres. The ladders were occasionally used to form interesting shapes and were manoeuvred throughout the work by 16 dancers dressed in casual street clothing and socks. Pointe shoes also appeared very briefly at one point. The cyclorama was stylishly lit in changing and sometimes vivid colours for the different scenes. Rolls of white fabric were unfurled and draped around the ladders towards the end of the performance but the significance of this was obscure as were other elements of the production.
The title stems from French film director Jean-Luc Godard’s reference to cinema as “truth 24 frames per second,” and The Truth 25 Times a Second uses video cameras scanning and projecting some sections of the dancers’ movements. Other filmed sections appeared to be pre-recorded. It was difficult to follow what was occurring on stage as well as the projections, which was probably intentional.
The complex theory and concept underpinning the work was not always realised and not assisted by choreography which was rather limiting and prosaic although always very well danced by the company. The argument between the boy and his father (the catalyst for the boy’s escape to the treetops and central to the work) was conveyed not too subtly by two male dancers in choreographed conflict under projected photographic portraits of a mature man and a young boy.
No dancers were identified by name in specific roles in the printed program but the lead male excelled in all aspects of his dance and aerial work, some short duets were lovely to watch and a girl in a red dress was impressive in her solo, which was captured in real time on camera and projected with moments of freeze frames in what was a very effective use of the technology. The diverse, mainly contemporary recorded music and sound effects such as birds chirping and percussion worked well. And Igor Stravinsky got a mention in the program as one of the “musicians”.
Flamand has said that “combining real and video images is aimed at heightening a live performance experience and breaking down the distinctions between live and recorded performance thus disorienting the audience can create new spaces and a sense of time”. Despite a most intriguing hypothesis, an eminent creative team and very good dancing, The Truth 25 Times a Second in one viewing at least, was not always equal to the sum of its promising parts.
- Margaret Mercer
Truth 25 Times a Second. Photo: Pino Pipitone.
