It was interesting to see the excerpt from Heliogable, which is set to the flutes and drums of the traditional music of Chad, with lots of splayed feet and hands (a trademark of Bejart's choreography), moving on all fours and bizarre lifts and couplings. Very other worldly.
Victor Jimenez and Ruth Miro were wonderful in their pas de deux, while Brazilian-born William Pedro almost stole the show with his solo from Und So Weiter, set to a rousing piece of Johann Strauss music (which George Balachine used so effectively in his Stars and Stripes).
But the best was saved for last, with Gil Roman and Elisabet Ros alternating their solos from Brel and Barbaru, before the rest of the company came back out to play with their yellow and orange jersey sarongs that are worn bandolier-style across their chests and can expand to full-body sacks. Ros alternated between forlorn yearning and slinky sexiness, while Roman was also soaring passion and flaring Gallic lover.
L'Amour, la Danse is great because it gives audiences a sampling of Bejart's diverse repertoire, and because it provides an opportunity for the dancers to shine in the various solos and pas de deux.
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