What is Emio Greco's Obession with Classical Prima Donnas?

An experience of the dansopera De Soprano's from an Italian choreographer 

This show was a grand spectacle on a classical level. This was a collaboration of the Opera Zuid and ICK Amsterdam as part of Emio's evident fixation with opera's heroines. 

The Show Must Go On

A single man begins in nothing but a black turtle shell and clear, platform heels with a full set up for a 8-piece orchestra, percussion, a 'glass harp' and platforms surrounding the stage.

This single man states the names of feminists from throughout history in his masked voice. Slowing the rest of the cast join on stage: 6 dancers, 3 singers, the conductor, and 8 musicians. Their faces were are all covered in chain mail as they stood facing the audience in what seemed like some sort of protest or stance.

The rest of the show goes on as a conversation between dancers, opera singers, and music, between the classical and the modern. Mostly the music and dancers blended seamlessly in harmony. The transition moments were bombarded with digital technics, guitar solos, and video projections interrupting the classical opera scene.

And as with his last piece, Verdi, the women dancers and singers wore their heels high and proud, dressed in draping, translucent slips, and rock&rolled the stage with strong feminist power.

So What Happened to Opera?

Despite the spectacle, the variety, and interaction, I was bored. Perhaps I miss the knowledge of classical Verdi opera's so I can not bring in the story to what I was seeing. And even so I feel that these dance pieces, with such action and variety, should be a story in themselves. I didn't understand the interlacing of the video projections or the moments of self-critique or the story line in general.

So instead I focused on little things; the dancer's movements, and way the singer's interact with the stage, how the conductor works together with the dancers. The dancing was beautiful. The six danced in harmony, and nearly unison but given the freedom to add their own voice to the movement. They are stunning dancers, naturally and this I enjoyed. And I got a little lost in their flow. The beauty wasn't quite enough to keep me engaged in the piece as a whole.

Greco naturally must have a deep interest in Verdi's operas. It's running through the core of the piece. For me, not having the history and knowledge of Italian Arias and story lines, I was missing out on the very foundation of what I was watching.

Week 3: What have I gotten myself into??

Wow. It has been a Great 2 days. 

I've signed up for more than I can handle this week and I'm totally digging it. 

First, in the morning I'm taking technique class with Peter Jasko. You could call it technique, but it's mostly improv—based, where we are busy researching our own movements. 

After this, I continue with Jasko with "Spontaneous Composition". We further research movement, adding layers of qualities and possibilities. We play solo as well and in groups, trios, duets.

Just for an idea of the movements and obsurdity of what I'm working on this week, here's some inspiration from Jasko:

After these 5 hours, I have a lunch break. Time to collect my thoughts...

And from 5-8 I take another very active workshops "Physical Verses" with Damian Jalet who worked with Sidi Larbi often. We explore centrifugal force with our center and limbs flying and spinning around the floor. Then we go into some other tasks, learning repetoire, working together as a group, and continuing harvesting centrifugal force in our own bodies. 

Some work from Jalet:

Needless to say... it's all too much for me. But i'm enjoying it oh so much!

I'm covered in bruises on my hips and knees and elbows because I get into this state where I'm exploring movement in such a different way, I end up in places I've never been before. 

Especialy with Jasko's work, he emphasizes the moving from the body, the body knowledge. Instead of mentally preparing what's going to happen next, you go for it. The focus is not on analyzing what the state, or feeling, or quality of the movement is, the focus is on 'doing' before even knowing where you're going. 
It's a kind of work that I'm really excited to be tapping into. I'm usually the more brainy thinker, and I'm thoroughly enjoying trusting in my body and seeing what already exists in it. 

I'm building a lot of trust in myself. and letting go of the fear of going to unknown places. 

I reach by the end of the day a level of complete exhaustion, and in this zone, when I continue to push the physical limits, I start to discover new things and develop new trust in my movements, stamina, and improvisation qualities. 

Day 3 of week 3... It's a killer!