The Rite of Spring

The Rite of Spring was written for the 1913 Paris season of the Ballet Russes with original choreography by possibly the greatest male ballet dancer of all time, Vaslav Nijinsky. The complex music and violent dance steps depicting fertility rites first drew catcalls and whistles from the crowd, and were soon followed by shouts and fistfights in the aisles. The unrest in the audience escalated into a riot.

It has survived with many choreographic interpretations and of course as a staple on the concert stage.

Tussock Dance Theater’s version is in many ways true to the spirit of the original Nijinsky choreography, particularly the sacrificial dance at the end.

Choreographed, and performed by WU Chien-Wei (who also created the video images), The Rite of Spring is an extraordinary piece of dance theatre both choreographically and visually. It is a 40-minute dance marathon requiring athleticism and endurance which WU delivers on both fronts. (He is also the Artistic Director and founder of Tussock Dance Theater)

The program describes The Rite of Spring as “A meditation on human fragility, survival, and the fine line between creation and destruction”, a reimagining of  “Stravinsky’s revolutionary work and tells the story of a victim who transforms into a perpetrator. “

The stage is bare except for piles of flowers that become bodies at the end of the dance, a table with two electric fans at the back, a back projection screen and swirling mist that envelops the stage at the point of rebirth.

Wu takes us on a journey that is at times brutal, at times beautiful, but always mesmerising. He is a powerhouse that uses silence as well as music to tell his story. He is the creator as well as the performer.

Particularly striking is his use of his long flowing hair, often covering his face so he becomes almost inhuman. In black for the first half, he removes these clothes and is ‘reborn’ before donning white clothes for the second half.

His flawless technique and facial expressions are terrifying to watch as he endures pain and oppression, only to become the oppressor himself. A cardboard mask represents his ‘blindness’ to the suffering going on around him.

As Wu drags the ‘flower’ bodies downstage, lines them up, and then walks over them, we are reminded of how vicious humanity can be. Even though the work was delayed by COVID, it still resonates with world events today and what might happen if we are not vigilant.

If The Rite of Spring is indicative of Tussock Dance Theater’s body of work, then I am looking forward to their return. It is a masterpiece of choreography, dance and visual imagery. I think that if Nijinsky were alive, he would approve!!!

Barry Hill OAM

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