Slag

Krisztina de Châtel was asked to make a guest choreography for the Dutch National Ballet. Her choreography, Slag – which means ‘stroke’ or ‘blow’ in Dutch – formed part of an evening of choreographies with music by the Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. Other choreographies in the program included work by Hans van Manen who staged a rerun of “Symfonieën der Nederlanden”, and Krzystof Pastor.

For Slag Krisztina de Châtel used the first part of De Materie by Louis Andriessen, translating the layered piece to a geometric choreography in which a group of 22 dancers engage in a fight with the loud bangs of the dynamic music.

In a powerful, austere choreography the dancers moved kaleidoscopically through space. The classical ballet technique of the dancers of the National Ballet was harnessed in a typical de Châtel manner with percussion emphasising weight and heaviness instead of soundless levity. The décor consisted of a large, metal bridge on which the dancers stomped, tapped and flailed.

premiere 14 February 2002, Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam
choreography Krisztina de Châtel
music Louis Andriessen, De Materie (part I), 1984-1986
stagedesign and costumes Totems, Paul van Oosterhout andn Gerard de Gorter
light Bert Dalhuysen
assistant of the choreographer Aina Bilkins
assistants from Dansgroep Krisztina de Châtel Cecilia Moisio, Suzan Tunca
photography Deen van Meer