Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye valuable than the fowls?
Luke 12:24
Choreologist Tobin Del Cuore may only have been in Australia for three weeks now but he is sure to leave his mark when his completely original new work, Consider The Raven, debuts at Ballet at the Quarry this PIAF. Del Cuore’s new work – produced specifically for WA Ballet’s Daryl Brandwood – will delight and hold its own as it appears amid works by such choreographers as Alejandro Cerrudo (Lickety-Split), Natalie Weir (Lacrimosa) and Timothy Harbour.
‘I arrived here with no intention of choreographing anything,’ Del Cuore told OUTinPerth, ‘and Ivan Cavallari (Artistic Director of WA Ballet) and I had dinner and then went out for a drink afterwards and started talking and I told him about my experience with choreography and my interest in it. And then the next day he walked in and asked if I’d like to choreograph a solo for Daryl Brandwood. I only had a few hours to think about it but I couldn’t resist the chance. It’s a great opportunity to work with this dancer and this company.’
Del Cuore’s new work takes its cue from the bible but while it isn’t religious in content, it does concern itself with striking a transformative balance in views and yes, will feature birds… if not literally, at least metaphorically.
‘I think that with any piece of choreography that the people in it, whether you are telling a story of not, whoever is dancing has to go through some sort of transformation while you’re watching it. So I think that there are certain things that happen during the course of this work and think in a way they relate to birds. And that’s without giving too much away!’
And birds won’t just feature on stage. The music itself has been composed by a Bird, so to speak. ‘There is a composer who I am using one song from in this work whose name is Andrew Bird, from Chicago,’ Del Cuore explained. ‘There is a real gorgeous, cinematic quality to his work and arrangements. He does these pieces, these small pieces that are just so musical. His music is just so beautiful.’
As is the music of Devendra Banhart, who supplies the soundtrack for choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo’s work, Lickety-Split. And Lickety-Split is the whole reason why Del Cuore is out here from Chicago – to actualise Cerrudo’s vision for the work with WA Ballet. The piece concerns itself with the everyday and the place love plays amid relationships.
‘It really takes it’s cues from the music,’ pointed our Del Cuore. ‘Devendra Banhart is a singer-songwriter from California. A lot of his stuff, you can’t quite understand what his words are – and in some cases it’s almost nonsense, or at the least he’s not telling a clear story. The last song I know is called Korean Dogwood and it’s sort of a series of names of trees and flora and that’s what it is. But it’s absolutely bewitching. He weaves these words together to create these really amazing and enchanting musical environments.
‘There’s also a lot of character in his music and Alejandro took that and created the pieces that, movement-wise, are so character driven. I think it’s hard for the dancers to dance something that is so stylised and characterised and somewhat pedestrian in that it has a really relaxed, non-dancer quality to it.’
Ballet at the Quarry starts on Wednesday February 11 and runs until Saturday February 28 at the Quarry Amphitheatre. Tickets are available now online from www.perthfestival.com.au.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
