pidge, in the program Michael and I saw, Hubbard also did Nacho Duato's Rassemblement (The Gathering). However, I thought this was one of the less effective pieces of the evening. Somehow, the political overtones of slavery and freedom didn't quite work for me in this dance piece.<p>[This message has been edited by Azlan (edited 11-14-1999).]

Azlan,<P>I've never seen Rassemblemant, but I know Les Grands has done it in the past. Please tell me (and the board) about your opinions on your piece... and also some more descriptions about the piece...<P>pidge

pidge, oh, oh, I was afraid someone might ask... let me work on it.<P>Michael, help?<p>[This message has been edited by Azlan (edited 11-16-1999).]

Okay, so here's my take on Rassemblement. It's almost a narrative ballet, about African slaves, and is broken into several parts. There is first the family scene where the men and women dance together; then there is the enslavement and subsequent "hardship" scenes; and finally, there is the freedom scene, replete with "liberte, liberte" in the lyrics.<P>The dancing was mostly sensuous. There is a certain body and hip swaying that is very alluring on the women. The strength of the enslaved men was also accentuated in the dancing style, I suppose to show the frustrating impotence of strength.<P>I personally didn't enjoy the work as much as I could because I felt the message was a bit too thick. And the "liberte" scene at the end was too contrived. We all know that did not happen in the lifetimes of most slaves. So, in short, I liked the dancing but not the theme.