What do you get when you cross the work of the artist Olafur Eliasson, the famed choreographer Wayne McGregor and the music producer and composer Jamie xx? Tree of Codes, an 80-minute dance production that had its US premiere this week in the drill hall of the Park Avenue Armory.
The piece is based on Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2010 conceptual novel of the same name, which in turn was created by cutting words from Bruno Schulz’s 1934 work, The Street of Crocodiles.
The show opens with a completely dark stage with the dancers only visible by a handful of lights attached to their bodies. This is perhaps the most captivating and magical part of the production: in their absence, you can almost feel rather than see the strain and pull of the dancers’ bodies. When the lights come on, the sight of dancers’ sinewy flesh feels almost violent.
Eliasson’s design for the stage includes a mirrored backdrop that frequently reflects the audience (at one point, the circle of a spotlight even pans through the crowd, illuminating pockets of spectators at a time), perhaps a nod to the historic social role of the theatre as a place to be seen as well as to see. Interesting games of perspective are played onstage with the dancers’ reflections, making it seem as if they are simultaneously dancing in front of and next to those further downstage.
Jamie xx’s atmospheric, pulsating score runs the gamut from bouncy and cheerful, to piano music, to new-wave synth, with occasional vocals from songs like So Much in Love (performed by the Persuasions), while McGregor’s choreography showcases the talent of the dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet—including the étoile Marie-Agnès Gillot—and his own company Random Dance. The 15-strong troupe received a standing ovation from most of the crowd, and Eliasson and McGregor joined them onstage to take a triumphant bow.
The work was commissioned by the Park Avenue Armory, the Manchester International Festival (where it premiered in July), Faena Art, the Paris Opera Ballet, Sadler’s Wells and the 2017 European Capital of Culture, Aaarhus, Denmark. Stavros Niarchos Foundation, British Council and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs supported this production.
The performance runs until 21 September, and it will later travel to Paris, Miami, Athens and London.