Friday, September 20, 2013

Where the Light Falls -- Performance by the Kosovo Ballet.

Last week, Baleti Kombetar I Kosoves, the National Ballet of Kosovo, performed Aty Ku Drita Bie , “Where the Light Falls”. Choreographed by Italian Choreographer, Antonio Dio Fini, the ballet is a collection of dances representing an awakening of consciousness. It attempts to shed light on the moments in life which filter into our unconsciousness and are therefore rarely truly experienced by us as beings.
The show begins with a male and a female dancer sitting on a table performing the same movements as though a reflection in a mirror. No music accompanies this initial piece – a brave move for a live performance in Prishtina where cell phones ringing and children talking are a constant obstacle to contend with. Throughout the dance, the table serves as a hiding place, a weapon, a hide-and-seek tool, a stomping ground, a stage, and a chair. Perhaps symbolic of a constant –a solid in a world of chaos and change as represented by the running, thrashing, and tackling of the dance.
The show moves from the duet into a group dance of ladies wearing brightly colored dresses and one high healed shoe. They scream and laugh as though having a wonderful time – it’s a joyful and upbeat number – a contrast to the dark silent beginning.
“Where the Light Falls” is dedicated to Dio Fini’s mother, to her Albanian roots. Inspired by the steady stream of people leaving the Balkans over the past five centuries, Dio Fini was thrilled to create the ballet and use dance to illustrate the hard journeys, the anger, the hope, and the memories people take with them when they leave their homelands. He includes a variety of moods, musical genres, and themes to make visible the line of connection existing between all those who have fled or left their homelands.

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