Expressive and captivating is the movement in this video of excerpts from Enzo Celli’s ballet, “Res” – “ Manilibere”. It is danced by the Italian Celli Contemporary Ballet company. I don’t know the name of the composer or song.
Celli is one of the breed of choreographers whose background is unconventional compared to those trained in formal theatrical dance forms. He was self taught in hip hop and later became interested in theatre and theatrical contemporary dance. He formed this company as a place to work independently and in collaborations with other artists and for other free lance choreographers and emerging Italian choreographers, to explore and experiment with movement to further the development of contemporary dance.
Out of his research with movement, Celli has developed a dance technique called MEME, similar to Ohad Naharin’s GAGA, to use as an experimental method from which to illicit new movement ideas and possibilities in the creative process with his dancers. His work is inspired by poetry which he infuses into his movement sensibility and creations.
The dancers in the company come from varied backgrounds with the collective interest to participate on a multifaceted study on contemporary dance and theatre. Contemporary dance, ballet, hip hop and break dance are the foundation techniques from which they work. The precedent for the company is that the exploration of movement is the focus and not the presentation of polished concert dance, and that each dancer is encouraged to retain their own identities while dancing together on stage. Compared to other companies this may give an ‘unpolished” appearance. However, this gives more freedom for dancers to develop their own personal dance styles with which to bring to the collective experimental processes of creative dance making.
In Celli’s choreography you can see the influences of hip hop and contemporary dance such as contact and release techniques which give the movement a natural organic appearance and flow. It looks almost pedestrian. I enjoy the easy flowing movement of the music, which for me helps to give structure and ambiance to the dancing. I particularly enjoy the ensemble dance towards the end of the video where the movement has a beautiful flow and ease to it.
Over all the dancing is expressive and enjoyable to watch and there some lovely moments of sheer poetry in motion.
For another taste of contemporary dance… enjoy! Be sure to SHARE!
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