November

Imre and Marne van Opstal creation for the Semperoper Ballet, is part of a series of pieces exploring the seasons and elements. Their encounter with the Dutch artist and composer Boris Acket, who had already created several installations on the theme of wind, inspired them to explore the element of air and its movement in this work. One of the things they find interesting about wind is that it only becomes visible and tangible when it encounters objects and sets things in motion. This invisible force also has a symbolic and mythological dimension: in some cultures, wind has been interpreted as a whisper of the gods or as a bearer of messages from the ancestors, and wind directions have been personified and associated with various characteristics and seasons. The title of the piece, November, refers to autumn and to a month in which the seasonal change, the shift from warm to cold winds, is particularly noticeable. It is a month in which much changes, old things are let go but also violently torn away.

Imre and Marne van Opstal also designed the costumes for the piece; these are reduced to the essentials and make the dancers appear naked, exposing their almost bare bodies to the elements. The choreographers are interested in the juxtaposition of the physical, the real, and the intangible. Boris Acket’s set lies between these poles: it consists of a semi-transparent, shimmering curtain that hovers in the center of the stage, reflects light, and is moved by a motor and fans. Acket’s curtain is at the center of the action, interfering with it and thus becoming an independent protagonist of the piece. The billowing of the curtain, despite its careful choreography, is only predictable to a certain extent. It expands the dancers’ gestures and influences their choreography, as they must adapt to its movement. On the other hand, his choreography is influenced by the air current created by the participants and by the atmosphere in the audience.

Imre and Marne van Opstal chose the music, a compilation of works by the renowned Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, to create a sonic atmosphere appropriate to this theme. The flow of the melody reminds them of leaves floating in the air; at the same time, the rhythm is complex and irregular, which they associate with the unpredictability of the wind. The sound of artificially created wind also comes into the piece through the noises created by the fans and the soundscape that Acket composed for the piece. This consists of synthetically imitated storm sounds that build bridges between Pärt’s pieces. The choreography of the work also reflects the theme of wind, which unpredictably changes direction, sometimes moving only parts of a tree, for example, becoming calmer and gentler, only to then again riot nature with powerful gusts. It suggests various stages of a change of season or an approaching storm. Imre and Marne van Opstal often work with circular movements and lifts for this piece, creating an impression of weightlessness, as if the dancers were carried by the wind, which also moves the curtain on the stage. Yet there are also unexpected twists and turns; dancers are driven together and then torn apart again. Thus, November is a dance with the wind, which, through its particularly close interaction, allows the audience through the acoustic and visual components, a new experience of an omnipresent, immaterial natural phenomenon.