RITE - Like the Whole Earth Cracking

When I tell people “I’m off to the ballet tonight” I’m pretty sure this is not what they imagine: brutal, tense and alien, Ballet BC’s RITE is not for the faint of heart.

Stretching contemporary ballet to its limits, both pieces in the production are inspired by The Rite of Spring and the impact it had at the world premiere on May 29th, 1913.

I have come to love the creature-like choreography of Emily Molnar. And never have I seen it quite as pronounced as in RITE, the first piece of the evening. Enhanced by a throbbing score  by Jeremy Schmidt and Gordon Monahan, the tension of the piece was almost unbearable. Dancers writhed and spasmed on stage like larvae bursting from their casing and growing legs in a sped up nature documentary. It was grotesque and wonderous. While the narrative struck me as primordial, the set was futuristic, the open space and phallic structure putting me in mind of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Just as RITE was a reaction to The Rite of Spring, the second piece, Consagracion, was developed as an answer to the first, a continuation of the theme but to the original score by Igor Stravinsky. If RITE was birth, Consagracion was about the awkwardness of adolescence: ungainliness punctuated by such an elegance of feeling and often also violence. RITE was ominous, the scale and group dynamics made it feel impersonal, a discussion on life across the universe. Consagracion was an exploration on a more personal level. It was about relationship, discovery and the emotional, rather than physical, pangs of growth.

A powerful pairing, these pieces are not designed to allow you to feel comfortable, but if you are brave enough, I challenge you to experience something raw and heartfelt with a momentum that will follow you out of the auditorium and down the street.