Canzone per Ornella
Event
Before becoming a playwright and then a choreographer, Raimund Hoghe used to write portraits, both of famous people and strangers, which were published in the newspaper Die Zeit. That habit remains at the heart of his work as a choreographer, under the guise of solos addressed to famous figures - Joseph Schmidt, Judy Garland, Maria Callas - or some of his favourite performers - Songs for Takashi and Musiques et mots pour Emmanuel [Songs and words for Emmanuel]. They always take the form of a “musical offering” where performers express their art through a presence deeply aware of the effects of music and time, the imaginary resonance of a voice and a melody. Ornella Balestra - widely known for her work with Maurice Béjart - is one of those dancers to best embody this mixture of intensity and reverie that characterises Raimund Hoghe’s dance (see Swan Lake, 4 Acts, Bolero Variations, Quartet and La Valse [The Waltz]). In Canzone per Ornella, the choreographer brings together for his dancer music and texts by Pier Paolo Pasolini, both those that have already been explored and those that have still to be experienced, playing with her ability to find the perfect balance between virtuosity and entertainment, between enigmatic presence and a movie-like figure.
