Mats Ek: Appartement

Belarbi; Gillot; Riche; Martinez; Osta; Fleshquartet; Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris

In Appartement, Mats Ek has made a ballet about an apartment and apart-ness. Everyday objects—a bidet, chair, door, stove, and vacuum cleaner—are used as one, two, or occasionally more people reveal connections or the lack of them. As the fourteen dancers walk, tumble, and fight, they show themselves and their relationships in images without narrative, all to the music of Fleshquartet, five musicians at the back of the stage on electronic instruments. Even the great curtain of the Palais Garnier becomes part of the set. In the twelve minutes of bonus interviews, we hear from Ek on his ideas for this work and from the company’s director, Brigitte Lefèvre, while the dancers discuss ways they were artistically stretched by this ballet created on them in 2000 and filmed in 2003. Horst Koegler’s notes are also illuminating.

Price: $35.98