Oh wow. Australian Ballet's contemporary triple bill 20:21 is just gorgeous, a must see for dance and non-dance fans alike. The dancers who take to the Joan Sutherland Theatre stage are the best in their field — and the best compliment that can be made is that they're flawless, that at no point do you see a single misstep, that everything flows and is as it should be.
Ballet is a fascinating form, using colour and movement, music, costumes and imposing set designs to tell a story, to show people's relationships to one another. 20:21 is at its most impactful when all these elements align. Although contemporary ballet does not equal progressive ballet, the same gender formations repeating themselves infinitely, that doesn't mean it can't be interesting, something unlike what we've seen before. The high point, of three dazzling works — Symphony In Three Movements, Filigree And Shadow and In The Upper Room — is the middle work.
It's a brand new work from Resident Choreographer Tim Harbour which sets itself apart with its hyper-electronic score from 48nord. It's dark and textured, enthralling and jarring, something that shows the lay person that ballet can be thrilling and buoyant, rather than something only your grandmother would be able to understand. It's ballet brought into the 21st century, viscerally.
