in the middle, somewhat elevated

this past thursday, i had the pleasure of attending the north carolina dance theatre's first performance of the season, director's choice. the evening featured three pieces, chosen by artistic director and the most adorable frenchman i know, jean-pierre bonnefoux. the evening began with a world premiere ballet choreographed by dance theatre's own beautiful aussie, sasha janes; the second a piece, bolero, choreographed by mark diamond; and the third, in the middle, somewhat elevated, by william forsythe. and while the first two were lovely, in the middle completely and totally stole the show. the 1987 piece was created originally for the paris opera ballet and i couldn't help thinking while watching how angular, unbalanced and aggressive it was, but that for some reason it was still totally appealing and captivating. the wings of the stage are bare and the dancers wear skin-tight lycra. they come and go throughout the 25 minute piece, bursting into abstract, athletic movement before exiting again to the industrial, electronic thom willems score. i could go on and on writing about how wonderful it was, but here's a clip from the renowned houston ballet's performance so that you can see for yourself!