Dublin Dance Festival 2023: The Köln Concert
The Köln Concert by Trajal Harrell / Schauspielhaus Zürich Dance Ensemble. Image Image by Reto Schmid
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Kicking off with an interpretative storm, Dublin Dance Festival 2023 dives in with the thought provoking The Köln Concert by Trajal Harrell / Schauspielhaus Zürich Dance Ensemble, a production steeped in the politics of performance. Localising politics to gender, which is visually androgynous, its seven strong ensemble, attired primarily in funereal black suggestive of gowns and skirts, execute catwalk struts, voguing arms and striking poses with distinct feminine grace.
The name arises from jazz pianist Keith Jarrett’s improvised album from 1975, The Köln Concert. Though Joni Mitchel might well feel aggrieved at being omitted from the title given the healthy selection of four of her songs. Which linger far longer than needed to establish mood or contrast. Not that it matters, dancers seeming to move as if in wilful ignorance of Mitchell’s music or Jarrett’s acclaimed masterpiece as they strut through seven piano stools, executing similar yet different movements. Often looking directly at the audience, consciously performing for them, inviting their gaze.
The Köln Concert by Trajal Harrell / Schauspielhaus Zürich Dance Ensemble. Image Image by Reto Schmid
Beginning with Mitchell’s mellow melodies, a sole dancer with a dress hanging over their clothes, feet generally set, executes wave like patterns from the waist up; waving arms becoming a defining choreographic component. What follows is less an ensemble piece so much as a series of complimentary solos. Walking, waving, striking poses, flickers of individuality come to define a group who are the same yet different, apart yet connected. Culminating in a lengthy sequence where posed bodies wait as a single dancer solos. One dancer momentarily mirroring their last movement; the gesture a passing baton, transferring ownership as roles are swapped. If the images aspire to evoke pity and embarrassment, they succeed to a point. But it’s the pity you’d feel watching your favourite aunt, seven staggering sheets to the wind, trying to remember her killer movies from when she was murder on the dance floor. Rinse and repeat, ensuring everyone gets a go, wait for the circular finale which hints at what might have been, then wait for the applause.
Even allowing that The Köln Concert was created during COVID, what emerges suggests the dance equivalent of non-dramatic theatre. Harrell’s choreographic references indebted to the conventions they seek to subvert. Like the emotional jargon of its blurb, The Köln Concert speaks in loose terms that say a lot, but choreographically it’s a lot less than it thinks. True, it speaks with vulnerability in addressing different yet the same. But this road lined with good intentions too often looks like a warm up for a drag brunch. It might trade in simplicity, but something vital gets lost in the trade off.
The Köln Concert by Trajal Harrell / Schauspielhaus Zürich Dance Ensemble, runs at The Abbey Theatre as part of Dublin Dance Festival 2023 until May 17.
For more information visit Dublin Dance Festival or The Abbey Theatre
