RASA, is a 3 act dance, theatre and musical piece by Daniel Proietto, premiered as the creation of Ballet Flanders 50th anniversary season. It received a nomination to the Fedora Van Cleef & Arpels Prize and has been chosen as one of the best productions of the year by Dance Europe.
World premiere January 25 2020. Performed at Stadsschouwburg in Antwerp, and Opera Ghent.
Production photos by Filip Van Roe.
In his contemporary interpretation of the famous La Bayadère, the Argentinian choreographer Daniel Proietto examines the colonialist view of the Far East that dominates this 19th-century Russian fairytale. He links this with philosophies from Indian culture and the richness of the Indian cultural heritage.
The choreographer creates a completely contemporary reading based on his fascination for the harmony that plays a central role in Marius Petipa’s original ballet. Proietto studied Petipa’s original source material, namely Gustave Doré’sillustrations for Dante’s Divina Commedia.
The twisted sculpted bodies of the damned souls inspired Proietto’s Harmony of Chaos, the final act in RASA.
Daniel Proietto reinterprets the tradition of the Indian devadasi, the original temple dancers (or bayadères) and the movement idiom of their sacred dances. The anchor point of his vision lies in Indian art philosophy and, in particular, the age-old ambiguous concept of rasa, that indicates an overpowering experience of a work of art that brings about the manifestation of a universal self-image, attained by letting go of the ego.
Interested in how the human and the divine can be linked within the multicultural landscape of the world today, Proietto in his choreography and Mikael Karlsson in his new score seek the universal essence that connects East and West.
CONCEPT, CHOREOGRAPHY, LIBRETTO, STAGING: Daniel Proietto
CO-CHOREOGRAPHY: Lee-Yuan Tu
TEXT AND PERFORMANCE ADVICE: Andrew Wale
SET DESIGN: Nicolás Boni
COSTUME DESIGN: Tamae Hirokawa
LIGHTING, VIDEO: Martin Flack
DRAMATURGY: Koen Bollen
MUSIC: Mikael Karlsson
ORCHESTRATION: Michael P. Atkinson, Mikael Karlsson
CONDUCTOR: Benjamin Haemhouts
ORCHESTRA: Casco Phil
ARTISTIC ADVISOR: Shantala Shivalingappa
CREATED WITH THE DANCERS OF BALLET FLANDERS
WORLD PREMIERE CAST 2020
Dancers of Ballet Vlaanderen
Nicky: Daniel Domenech, Mikio Kato
Solor: Osiel Guineo, Claudio Cangialosi, Morgan Lugo
Gamzatti: Nicha Rodboon, Nancy Osbaldeston, Clàudia Gil Cabús
The Faker: Matt Richard Foley
Tuk Tuk Driver: Guido Belcanto
Queen Victoria: Zoe Ashe-Browne
“Swedish composer Mikael Karlsson has written an entirely new score, with many kinds of music and influences from all over the world – a beautiful match.” (Klassiek-Centraal)
“Together with Mikael Karlsson’s fresh new music score, it is a relief in a ballet world that likes to be burdened.” (De Standaard)
“Yesterday’s music covered with today’s sensitivity and technology. This is ‘RASA’.” (Fatti Italiani)
“Proietto’s production RASA turns out to be extremely entertaining and catchy – a revamped version of the classic ballet La Bayadère tailored for 2020.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
“To the smallest detail, Rasa follows this strategy of disenchantment, and the evening becomes even more enchanting.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
“RASA is thus far the best example of the ‘ballet company 3.0’ envisioned by artistic director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui: engaged, contemporary but aware of its history, and eclectic.” (De Standaard)
“An astonishing shadow and light show… With Rasa he is taking a particularly important step in the evolution of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, and of the ballet world.” (De Standaard)
“A journey through multiple spatial and temporal dimensions… The project is presented in such an original form that you forget the reference work.” (Fatti Italiani)
“Daniel Proietto’s RASA – a deconstruction of the 19th-century ballet La Bayadère – is dance theatre on an epic, operatic scale: a spectacular clutter of ideas with periods of ingenuity and flair.” (Bachtrack / Shinshokan Dance Magazine)
“The audience no longer sees just a ‘ballet’ but a gesamtkunstwerk that seeks impact on spiritual, intellectual and emotional levels.” (Klassiek-Centraal)
Photo by Andrew Ross