Midori Kurata

akakilike

Portrait de famille

Set around the dining-room table, the timeless metaphor for the organization of a family home, a disturbing family portrait looms, quakes and evolves. Midori Kurata’s flagship piece transports us to a place somewhere between choreographical thriller and grating musical theatre.

With a mixture of cynicism and provocation, a father shares with the members of his family all the things they can look forward to on his death, thanks to his extensive life insurance policy. In response, the heavy silence on behalf of his wife and children accentuates the cruelty of his words, a suggestion of the forbidden nature of any attempt to speak up. From the onset, this air pocket opens up a host of possibilities in the imagination of the audience which, as the piece unfurls, projects itself in the mental and emotional space of each of the protagonists. Carried off by performers with remarkable energy, the choreographic writing of Midori Kurata brings together, in an audacious way, eclectic dance techniques taking in classical ballet, balancing skills and object-based theatre. With its dazzling ruptures in terms of rhythm, the dance weaves a path between the fairy-like tenderness of The Nutcracker, freeze-frames for the family photograph poses and the almost supernatural dimension that the text conjures up. Set amidst a Festen-like atmosphere, this piece is an enticingly mysterious puzzle of the performing and visual arts.