Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden
July 12, 2023
The familiar Stravinsky music. But hip hop. Krump to be precise. It’s an unusual mix, one that may initially sound odd. But right from its premiere in 1913, ‘Sacre’ has broken with tradition, challenging listeners and viewers, often very successfully. And it does here too.
Tanzkomplizen’s A Human Race: The Rite of Krump is an absorbing forty-five minutes of dance in which five expressive dancers not only showcase the possibilities of the style but show a great deal of emotion. Characterized by its high energy rapid, particularly fast, sharp exaggerated movements of the arms and legs, krump sits very comfortably with the Stravinsky indeed.
The production was created as part of the ‘Offensive Tanz für junges Publikum Berlin,’ which aims to inspire enthusiasm for dance from an early age, and beyond theatres. As such, productions play in a variety of spaces and formats. Although it took place in the Festspielhaus’ main auditorium, this performance saw the audience of around 100 sat on stage with the performers and seriously close-up.
Photo René Löffler
Far from the feeling out of place, the krumping performers and music come together very quickly. The dance (choreography by Grichka Caruge and the ensemble) and music feel made for each other in what turns out to be a subtle yet powerful struggle for presence and the right to exist. It’s a story of empowerment. You will look in vain for the usual scenario or a ‘Chosen One,’ however. Instead, and in a circle marked in sand, it is a work that explores existence, boundaries and belonging.
It starts with the performers spaced out outside that ring, which feels like a wall; in a sense physically but more one in the mind. The opening choreography suggests inner conflict. The choreography focuses on hands and wrists. Being so close helps, but the detail is superb. That nearness also lets those watching truly see faces and expressions. When they dancers look at the audience, it really is as though they are looking at you personally.
Feet stamp on the floor, prompting the arrival of the Stravinsky. But when they step through the invisible barrier it now seems they cannot escape. Or is it a case of do not want to escape? Because when they finally break out, they step straight back in. And yet there is still a sense of doubt and uncertainty.
The thunderous percussive music matches the movement perfectly throughout, the choreography picking up on its power and edginess. Yet, for all the speed of the movement, some of the best moments come when the dance almost stops, the music still pounding away. One of the most powerful sees Émilie Ouedraogo Spencer walk very slowly alone while the others dance. She is also the first to take a handful of sand and run it thoughtfully through her fingers, a motif that recurs several times.
Sometimes being apart seems to be by choice, but sometimes through being expelled. Sometimes it’s a dramatic outward representation of inner conflict and tension as when Solomon Quaynoo creases and jerks to the music, his body appearing to crunch up before us. Luka Austin Seydou, Rochdi Alexander Schmitt and Mark Sheats all get their moment too.
Elsewhere however, there is significant support with belonging very much to the fore. A dance with a cap, passed between them just one such example.
All the time, that circle of sand gets increasingly broken, as psychological walls come down. sun.
When the end comes, there is a sense of release; A feeling that they have found themselves, established who they are. Perhaps they are all ‘Chosen Ones.’
A Human Race. The Rite of Krump. Raw, energetic and full of integrity. A dance about people, individuals, who we are, what makes us different, what binds us together. It’s about what keeps us in or out, what makes us what we are. Indeed, what makes us human. Deeply thoughtful, it’s a work that poses questions. But also one that is hugely inspiring. And hugely enjoyable.