mirrored wonders: Kammerballetten's thought-provoking Mirror Chamber at Tbilisi Ballet Festival 2025
The Tbilisi Ballet Festival 2025 played host to a captivating performance by the Dutch ballet company, Kammerballetten, with their production titled "Ghosts, Lovers, Echoes: Kammerballetten's Radical Chamber of Mirrors." This radical and reflective chamber ballet exploration delved into themes of memory and emotion, pushing the boundaries of conventional ballet.
The program, curated by Danish ballet visionary Tobias Praetorius, was a compelling example of how chamber ballet can serve as a "radical chamber of mirrors," reflecting complex emotional states and relationships through innovative movement vocabulary and staging.
One of the standout pieces was THE GUST, a duet by Sebastian Kloborg, featuring special guest Nina Ananiashvili. This duet was a silent meditation on legacy, time, and the dignity of presence, leaving the Georgian audience in awe. Ananiashvili's appearance drew a collective intake of breath, bringing Georgia into the intimate, radical present of European dance.
Another notable performance was SELVPORTRAT, a piece by Paul Lightfoot. Lightfoot's choreography was characterized by sudden drops, clinging and repelling bodies, and a bruised lighting design, exploring themes of grief, memory, and identity through shifting interplay of trio forms. The long-form work in the second act was performed by Maria Kochetkova, Toon Lobach, and Sebastian Pico Haynes.
Alexander McKenzie's score was performed live for SELVPORTRAT, adding an extra layer of depth to the emotional performance. ELEPHANT, a duet by Emma Portner, was performed with Toon Lobach, showcasing the company's versatility in contemporary ballet.
SARCASMEN, a piece by Hans van Manen, was performed by Salome Leverashvili and Timothy van Poucke, demonstrating the company's commitment to showcasing a variety of choreographers' works. OTHER LITTLE STORIES, a duet by Amilcar Moret Gonzalez, was danced by Nino Samadashvili and Giorgi Potskhishvili, rounding off the program with a poignant and moving piece.
Ivan Nechaev, a renowned dance critic, praised the production in his review, emphasizing the company's ability to fuse classical ballet precision with modern sensibilities, creating a profound sensory and emotional experience for the audience. The Kammerballetten performance in Tbilisi was indeed a miniature opera of emotional precision.
For those seeking deeper insights into the individual choreographers or a complete critical analysis, the original review and festival program notes might provide additional information beyond this accessible summary. The Kammerballetten performance at the Tbilisi Ballet Festival was a testament to the power of chamber ballet as a medium for exploring complex emotional landscapes and pushing the boundaries of traditional ballet.
The performance of Sebastian Kloborg's duet THE GUST, featuring Nina Ananiashvili, showcased the exploration of legacy, time, and the dignity of presence through a silent meditation in music and dance. SELVPORTRAT, a piece by Paul Lightfoot, featured a moving long-form work in the second act, performed by Maria Kochetkova, Toon Lobach, and Sebastian Pico Haynes, accompanied by a live score, and was characterized by themes of grief, memory, and identity, also exemplifying the nuances of music and dance.
