NIEUWZWART... A CAR CRASH ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD

Last friday, after taking an overdose of Lemsip, this sick weasel was good to go for a few hours, got in the car, drove to Brussels, picked up a friend along the way and finally parked around the corner from the KVS . We'd scored some tickets for nieuwZwart, the new performance of Wim Vandekeybus and his brand new group of dancers. No friggin' germs, a few coughs or a puddle of sinus fluids was keeping me from going, I wanted to see this! [like many other sick person it seamed, lots of coughing and sneezing in the house]

Not that I'm such a great fan of dance, really. I did 8 years of classical ballet at the conservatory until i fucked up my knee, and provided the music is good, it'll be hard to get me off the dance floor on a night out. But proper dance like this, with a big D? No, I have to admit I haven't even seen as many shows as I have fingers on my right hand. So yes, don't expect any clever criticism here and blablabla about this piece seen in the context of contemporary dance. I just had a brilliant evening and I would advise anyone to go see it. Why? Well, here's a list...
1. First of all, MAURO's MUSIC! It's is AMAZING: The dark, menacing, droning, screeching, noisy rock fits perfectly with the performance. Like shady angels of evil they're floating above the stage and let their music descend upon the dancers and the audience with great vengeance: thunder rolling down the hills. I would go see this if it was just a gig but the dancers are certainly an added bonus, so a double whammy! The music will be released on record, make sure you add that one to your collection!
2. The gold-silver foil emergency blankets! So simple yet so brilliant! They transform the dancers into huge, super light, golden molehills floating over the stage. And then there is the sound... It's like wind in the trees, really, you feel like you're sitting in a leafy summer forest with gale force winds, mind-blowing.
3. The dance of course. It's all very primal, very physical, aggressive and visceral. I like! I wonder how they can do that without getting bruises though.
4. Back to the music, its presence is so overwhelming. The musicians are also not just providing the music, they are a proper part of the performance. At one point they come down from their floating stage, walk up to the dancers on the floor and use their bodies to produce sounds which they capture and sample with strange devices they're carrying around. It's like scientists extracting something vital from their caged laboratory animals. Eerie and unsettling.

That's basically the feeling I got throughout the show, something eerie, unsettling, and apocalyptic. Like I was watching something I shouldn't be looking at, certainly not with a fascination this great, but I couldn't keep my eyes off it. You know, like a really bad car crash on the other side of the road. Some people said it was a typical Vandekeybus show, they'd seen it all before. Luckily I didn't have that problem. I left the KVS totally recharged, my head full with new images and ideas. Ignorance can be a blessing sometimes :)

TIP: don't go for the parterre seats, find a spot on the first balcony...