choreographer & ex-dancer, australian simone clifford writes a bold and provocative review of her former company,the australian ballet, and of jiri kylian, her former director when she danced at NDT, and of forsythe's 'the vertiginous thrill of exactitude':<BR> <A HREF="http://www.danceinsider.com/f825.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.danceinsider.com/f825.html</A> <P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><U>Flash Review, 8-25: Pilgrimage in Search of a New Simplicity - From the Sublime to the Tacky at Oz Ballet</U> <P> MELBOURNE, Australia -- In Melbourne last night, the Australian<BR> Ballet's Trilogy 1 program opened to a full house at the Victorian<BR> Arts Centre's prestigious State Theatre. <P>I came home from the theater with my soul burning, and I thought of<BR> the passage in the Bible where Moses stands in front of a burning<BR> bush, and it was spirit or God talking to him. Why I am being<BR> so...spiritual? Why is my soul so on fire? Let's see if I can unfold<BR> my thoughts and feelings as I write this Flash Review. - - -<P>Jiri's work opened the evening and whilst I watched his "Bella<BR> Figura," I breathed a sigh of relief to once again be in contact,<BR> albeit as a spectator, with the world of the subconscious, the inner<BR> trappings of the mind and the constant questions it asks of us to<BR> us. There is a beauty to be found here and I think it comes from a<BR> deep and isolated source from within. Who of us dares to go<BR> there? Of course it is the creators. - - -<P>So last night, once again, we saw Jiri's creative genius manifest<BR> the "stuff of the subconscious" into form. He finds his inspiration,<BR> and lets us contact our own. - - -<P>During the intermission, I did meet briefly with Jiri. We spoke first<BR> of his "Bella Figura," and then I mentioned Billy's "The Vertiginous<BR> Thrill of Exactitude." I couldn't help but say to him that I found that<BR> particular work of Billy's just brutalizing. Jiri told me that Schubert<BR> was a countryman of his (Czech) and that this Symphony No. 9<BR> was written in response to a great tragedy that had occurred in his<BR> country. Suddenly it all made sense: Billy had gone against the<BR> grain of the music, the intention of the composers voice and it<BR> SHOWED. This work really stinks, it's a mockery in all aspects --<BR> the work appears farcical, but for the wrong reasons. Sorry, all you<BR> Billy fans (I am one too, with a lot of respect for the man), but<BR> there's no going back on this one. Oh, but what I will share with you<BR> from the program notes is that this ballet was voted BALLET OF<BR> THE YEAR in San Francisco, so the really worrying question is:<BR> 'WHAT'S GOING ON IN SAN FRANCISCO?'<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><p>[This message has been edited by grace (edited September 02, 2000).]
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