For his new creation, French choreographer Noé Soulier says that he drew upon action verbs: hit, throw, dodge. If that suggests the sporting arena rather than an opera house, where Close Up has its Avignon festival premiere, well the results sometimes resemble a warmup for the Paris Olympics. There are sequences that evoke martial arts, climbing, even a bit of discus.
A contrapuntal Bach accompaniment, including the Art of Fugue, is played on violin, viola da gamba, harpsichord, traverso and cello by the Il Convito ensemble. Soulier’s choreography has the balance more in favour of the six young dancers’ spirit of independent discovery than in the relationship developing between them. Searching expressions are worn as they conjure up encounters with unknown terrain, then switch to scrutinising their bodies as if they, too, are seen for the first time.
