Arts: Ballet


Tánc a Táblázat Forgáscsap

Experimental Hungarian ballet inspired by Bill Of Materials Spreadsheet

Review originally published GTG Aug 2011

Field of Dreams

Greyfield Halls, Sat Jul 2nd:

It’s great to see Grey Town’s burgeoning Fringe is starting to attract high quality acts from across Europe

Noted for it’s easy access, celebrated architecture and cultured citizens Grey Town is establishing itself at the core of Europe’s Avant Garde

And it’s reputation can only be strengthened after this inspiring production from renowned Hungarian art group
‘Föld-Szél-Traktor’ who are resident for the summer season at Greyfield Halls, Grey Town’s flagship venue

Founded during the tumultuous period of Soviet decline and democratic ascendency, FST’s core philosophy is a Utopian fusion of benevolent socialism and libertarian capitalism, with a declared mission ‘to awaken the public’s minds to the artistic potential of industrial mass-production and financial engineering’. Driven by the concept of ‘Inclusion’ the EU-funded group has established a reputation for making esoteric subjects accessible to a wider audience, not by dumbing-down subject matter but by raising the aspirations and self-expectations of the audience

This marvelous vignette of a ballet, lasting precisely 32 minutes and 18 seconds, represents a departure from the group’s traditional techno-brutalist style. Gone are gaunt faced industrial drones, on-stage tractors and steam engines, replaced by a legion of manacled dwarfs (representing the cell data) and a dozen black latex clad six-foot Amazon blonds with whips and thigh boots riding Harley Davidson motorbikes (the macros)

As the show progressed we were treated to a spectacle of synchronized dancing and leaping dwarfs (representing the calculations) – with one notable performer deftly switching from blue to red spandex (signifying a negative number) – all choreographed by the whip-cracking ultra vixens. The audience positively yelped with enjoyment

The performance features some neat little in-jokes that will appeal to practiced Excel users – such as the cell in which the players kept randomly swapping places between ‘date’ and ‘integer’ format: priceless!

Eat your heart out Busby Berkeley..a new show is in town!

Tánc a Táblázat Forgáscsap

Running time:         32 minutes 18seconds
Where:                Greyfield Halls, Grey Town Central
Times:                daily 7pm until August 31st (Concessions available to Hungarians and dwarfs)
Greyscale Rating:     Platinum

Downtime
The GTG Lifestyle Magazine

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