BABEL [words] that deserve it

The unity of 18 performers from 13 countries, speaking 15 languages and observing 7 religions is what makes Babel special. But can a piece based on mathematics, architecture, rhythm, patterns and neurology be entertaining? Yes it can, if music, dance and fine art inseparably merge into a transcendent theatrical experience. Through respect and deep understanding the choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaou and Damien Jalet found a way to connect different cultures.

 

  “YOU are in fact connected, not just by your Facebook or the Internet but you are actually quite literally connected by your neurons. There are chains of neurons in this room talking to each other” –utters the successful self-made businessman (Daryl E. Woods). Wood quotes the neuroscientist VS Ramachandran, calling forth the oriental idea of common consciousness. Despite the deeply rooting similarities, all the dancers – carefully chosen to demonstrate liminalities - are unique, carrying a complex cultural identity in themselves.

Our technology-driven society leads to chaos and ends in a prehistoric, simpleton monotony. “Forgive me, for…Give me! Give me! Give me” is the new mantra of the dummy robot gal (Ulrika Kinn Svensson). “I am not afraid of tomorrow, I have seen yesterday and I love today”- she says, mesmerized by her caveman. However, future can be quite desolate - the revenge of the divine-diabolic many-armed creature may destroy everything. Reconciliation is possible only through art.

The piece (third part of a trilogy) is based on the Biblical story, where God’s wrath scatters the people of the Earth into different languages and countries – creating imagined boundaries. Babel (words) questions the hegemony of English. Every language, every dialect is beautiful and rich if you listen to it. Language – here used only to create humor – can connect people; but it may also build the walls of a lonely ivory tower.

Any language is music on its own. But Cherkaou and Jalet go back to the most primordial, fundamental language: rhythm. The beat of the Indian tabla and the Japanese taiko drums occasionally give place to lyrical harp and polyphonic voices. More than an illustrated sample of world music, the songs (sometimes shared by the dancers) are an integral part of the show.

The 3D aluminium frames of Antony Gormley support the basic pattern of constantly changing boundaries in time. All the cubes have the same volume, yet, they appear as if they all had different sizes. This adds up to the bottom line of Babel (words): shapes might be different, but we are all the same!