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Claire Croizé

‘Blowing Up’

by Nele Suisalu

August 18, 2003 -- Kanuti Gildi Saal
Augusti TantsuFestival 2003, Tallinn

“The emotion must come from the contrast between the fragility and the strength of human body. To breathe and find freedom. To stay standing in spite of the force of gravity.”

These, my thoughts, grew after Croizé’s performance:   Most of the time I saw the strength or the heaviness. Her movements were minimalistic, repetitive and physically exhausting. She put several jackets on -- one on top of another. I could feel the hotness and tightness inside of those: a sensation of oppression.

Everyday struggle in real life: the same turns, bends, and arches over and over again. Until you get dizzy or bored or sink deeper.

Then the fragility came: she was simply standing and looking at the audience -- a question in her eyes, “I don’t understand it, do you?”

Gravity pulled her - dropping and bending - her head towards the floor.

The Vivaldi was barely audible: almost nostalgic, helpless even. The silence; the continuous sequence of movements. And the electronic “noise” of Sonic Youth or Fennesz. The minimalism of the choreography let the emotions change according to the sound. She gave synonyms for the audience to understand better the simple truth she was telling.

Closer to the end the music/sound got louder, but instead of pressing her more towards the ground, her body overcame the heaviness. She lifted her chin and even smiled to the audience. The sudden change made me feel like I was succeeding in something important, achieving something I’ve always wanted. For me it wasn’t so relevant anymore how or where she was ending her dance. I was floating in the air, testing my own wings: for a short while she had freed me from gravity.

I am still smiling.

Edited by Jeff.

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