By Dr. Malini Nagpal
It is well established that dance bring communities together. It is a form of art that allows the dancer (artist) to connect with the audience through all senses and the moving form. Dance is an expressive medium with a uniquely effective way to convey meaning, emotion, and cultural values of people. Through innovative choreography and embodiment process, Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works has seemed to have attempted to achieve that.
According to the press release, “Woolf Works re-creates the emotions, themes, and fluid style of three of Virginia Woolf’s novels: Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, and The Waves. Woolf Works expresses the heart of an artistic life driven to discover a freer, uniquely modern realism. Considered one of the most important 20th-Century authors, Virginia Woolf in her writings searched for forms that defied the false order of traditional narrative conventions and enabled her to depict reality as she perceived it: heightened, startling and poignant.”
In my conversation with Gillian Murphy, one of the three principals who dances the role of Virgina Woolf, Ms. Murphy described the process of embodying Woolf as one the most captivating. “Woolf is not a fantasy character. She was real and complex.” To embody Woolf goes beyond ballet technique. In Woolf Works, ballet technique is just one vehicle to assist the dancers in embodying the complex personality and then executing it through movement. It’s the personalization of the emotions and then expressing them through choreography that is most fascinating. As a glimpse into this process, Ms. Murphy directed my attention to the “Waves” piece and explained that “it is the search for authenticity where one questions one’s own existence and the mystery of being alive.” Holding “still” is not at all about being silent. Rather it is full of emotional and psychological depths.
“Woolf Works’ music is hauntingly beautiful. It inspires the dancer to move freely. Ms. Murphy invites the audience to come experience American Ballet Theater (ABT) for themselves. “It will be unique and special for everyone. Every audience member is going to walk away with a different experience,” said Ms. Murphy
Originally, created for The Royal Ballet in 2015, Woolf Works recreation of the collision senses and form that are prevalent in Woolf’s novels. This performance is aimed to bring to life Woolf’s world of “granite and rainbow,” where human beings are at once both physical body and uncontained essence.
“Woolf Works is not a literal description of Woolf’s writing, says McGregor. “It’s very lavish, with new visualization techniques and a collage structure; a full-on assault and collision of the senses. The idea was to choregraph and design the piece in the spirit of Woolf’s writing, in an unfolding stream of consciousness, rather than as a literal translation of the novel’s narratives.”
Woolf Works is produced in association with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. This production was first seen at the Royal Opera House, London on May 11, 2015. At its premiere, Woolf Works was met with outstanding critical acclaim, going on to win McGregor the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Classical Choreography and the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
You can catch this fascinating production and performance in Costa Mesa, CA at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. For the first time in America, five performances will run from April 11 to 14, 2024. The show, inspired by the writings of 20th-Century modernist author Virginia Woolf, Woolf Works sold-out crowds in London. This marks American Ballet Theatre’s first full-length production by McGregor, featuring a luminous original score by Max Richter, performed live by Pacific Symphony.
Tickets start at $39.00.
April 11- April 14, 2024
Thursday, April 11 at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 12 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 13 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 pm
In-person and Phone-
The Box Office
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 556-2787
Monday 10 am – 2 pm
Tuesday through Friday Noon- 5 pm
Closed Saturdays and Sundays
Online – SCFTA.org
Group Sales – (714) 755-0236