Silent Screen by NDT house choreographers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot can be seen as the epitome of a transdisciplinary performance where dance, theatre, film and music effortlessly come together to melt into a painterly Gesamtkunstwerk.
Large screens offer a lively background of images that flow into each other as if in a dream. For 45 breathtaking minutes, Silent Screen shuttles between pure stillness and utter panic, reinforced by Philip Glass’ familiar cinematic music Glassworks.
Never before had Paul Lightfoot and Sol León created a dance this long — 45 minutes — and hardly ever was the result so compelling and well balanced. The piece begins with a fascinating duet against the background of a solitary man vanishing into the see. When the dancers disengage themselves from the images, they display harmony and happiness. Then the sea transforms into a forest and the atmosphere changes. Despite its high degree of technicality, the ballet refers to great themes of life and has profound emotional overtones.
This time the inspiration is by the hand of the art of silent movies. Trying to get the strength of the amazing way to act emotions, the beauty of the body expression without words, and the power of these actors through a symbolic way to project their drama. It’s been a beautiful and emotional experience that makes us improve our way to communicate more through the art of dance.
Sol Leon