Indigo choreographed by Stanton Welch in 1999 is a powerful
collaboration of movement and lighting that stimulates the mind
in a wonderful way. Four couples are found on the stage
under spotlights and separated by darkness.
At the beginning of the piece the four couples share romantic
relationships with their partners and perform simultaneously yet
separated from the other partners. As the piece continues the spotlights
that target each couple fade and the darkness is lifted between
the couples. But the darkness is still to be found at the
back of the stage where dancers later on seem to appear out
from no where.
The couple’s relationships change as they begin to
freely dance across the stage no longer constricted to the spotlights
or even their partners. This is where the piece picks up speed and takes
you through a surreal representation of the “oh” so common and
well-known hardships of falling romances and changing relationships
that are experienced in life. Though the stories are easily recognized
the style in which they are told or should I say danced is very dreamy.
There are parts where the dancers come attacking out of the darkness
from the back of the stage, jumping and turning with power. At other
times partners move more controlled and focused. Which at a few
moments I almost, I repeat almost, got bored but was retaken by
another attack from lot of new clever movements as it almost
reaches a comical state of being as emotions are expressed
through unique but telling arm movements from the women and men.
The piece is truly a wonderful blend of dancing but also lighting
and the costumes (which you might guess are a bit indigo) that
I found to be quite unique and un-ordinary. This collaboration
really brings about a nice variety of emotions to the viewer.
By the end the males come together to dance simultaneously
with the women, but the women escape the stage leaving only
the men looking up in to four small spotlights from above.
To me it seemed as if they were longing for what they had had
in the beginning after all the change that occur throughout the piece.
I believe the longing was for clarity and their was anger against
the world around them which had taken what they had, which was their
romance which they all had had at the beginning.
By Ian Buchanan
Dancers from Houston Ballet masterfully performed Stanton Welch’s exciting and ingeniously sinuous Indigo at the Wortham Theater on March 18, 2006. In this ballet, eight of Houston Ballet’s best dancers performed to the music of Antonio Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in B minor and Cello Concerto in G minor. Welch designed simple costumes for the dancers which would emphasize the lines of the body rather than disguise them.
Welch’s choreography creates an erotic tension, with a perfect balance of quirky movements within the refined ballet. Each step seamlessly coincides with every measure of music, and even certain instruments were matched to specific dancers or pas couples. This approach was executed much in the same way as it is in Balanchine’s Concerto Barroco, where the complete union of instrument and dancer is formed perfectly.
All the dancers executed the choreography with precision and electric artistry. Michelle Carpenter, with her exceptionally long legs, created optimally long lines with each step, despite the remarkably fast pace of the music. Melody Herrera colored the stage with her zest, and coolly wowed the audience with her sailing alaseconde turns. The men in the piece accomplished spectacular lifts and partnering feats with the women, while also offering their own impeccable technical and artistic skills as well.
Lighting designer Christina R. Giannelli equipped the piece with bewildering and stimulating light specials which seemed to inhibit the audience from tearing its eyes from the moving forms on stage. Giannelli artistically designed the lighting in such a way that the viewer never watches the wrong dancer, but instead emphasizes the appropriate focal point at every beat of the piece. It makes it so that the audience knows exactly where to look at all times, but without taking away from the beauty of the entire collaboration at the same time.
The piece entranced the audience from start to finish (tip: bring eye drops, because you most likely will not want to blink for the twenty-five minutes time in which the curtain is drawn). It offered the ideal balance of lighting, music, costumes, and dancers to form yet another unforgettable performance by Houston Ballet.
By Julie Smith
Indigo, a piece choreographed by Stanton Welch, combines the color, the sensual, the gender and timing contrasts, and the music to create a most delightful ballet for the eye. As it is usual in Stanton’s Choreography, this ballet consists on many cannons that highlight the sharp and the continuous using the many layers of Vivaldi’s music. Just as in the the music, Stanton uses the arms, legs and head to create visual symphonies. Male and female are combined, thus creating a single body that is subtly divided when the dancers separate. Altogether, this ballet is a series of body, lights and music patterns served as a dessert for the eye.
By Braulio Alvaraz
