"UN/A" by Ballet BC

(The Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 24 April 2014)

When consuming science, one attends to others' questions. To art, one comes with one's own questions, superimposes them onto art, and scans for answers. This superposition works best with art that uses a universal language and is not literal. Because it inflects bodies, dance is the most evocative such language.

Ballet BC are not constrained by the need (actual or perceived) to conform to ancient prejudices as to what ballet ought to be. Hence, they succeed at venturing beyond sport and deal in art. In "UN/A," their vocabulary is apt, but the narrative is mostly shallow, except in “Lost and Seek” (by Gustavo Ramirez Sansano), which praises sociality without succumbing to socialism.

To be appreciated, some art requires formal training. Pure mathematics does. Popular art does not; it relies on common experiences instead. A programme that instructs how one should feel when confronted with ambiguity and what the choreographer would have said in plain English were he not trapped in the contractual obligation to express himself through mute avatars misprizes popular art.