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“Plexus” – Kaori Ito and Aurélien Bory at Sadler’s Wells

The setting is stunning, but simple: there are thousands of thin ropes stretching from the ceiling to the floor, forming a sort of cage; there are simple light effects which change the mood from intimate to inhuman, from erotic to religious; there is some dark fabric; and one dancer. Sounds are minimal – some beats and the amplified heartbeat and stomping of Kaori Ito’s feet.

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The ropes provide a completely unique environment. Ito’s interaction with them has an incredible range – she hurls herself against them violently (at the same time showing that the platform at which the ropes end is separate from the stage, so she can make the whole structure swing ponderously), she walks among them, almost naked, using them and the light as curtains that allow glimpses of her nearly naked body, she climbs on them, she allows them to support her weight in acrobatic contortions. The sheer versatility of the setting, the lighting and Ito’s absolute mastery of her body add to a narrative which, depending on how pessimistic you feel, can be anything from a meditation on our imprisonment between bars of surveillance to a hopeful story of finding new identities and possibilities within that imprisonment, of learning to dance regardless of constraints.

As a performer, Kaori Ito has great stage presence and is unbelievably expressive; aided by the light, her movement is in turns reminiscent of The Quay Brothers’ stop-motion animation figures, jerky and hectic or acrobatic and seductive. I have seen reviews that accused this performance of being emotionally distant, but I didn’t think that was the case – there are elements of horror there, of fighting against the passage of time, of finding moments of grace and harmony. Even though constrained by innumerable obstacles, hers is a beautiful struggle.

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