Raimund Hoghe, Boléro Variations at The Walker Art Center

RAIMUND HOGHE AND HIS TROUPE HAD TWO shows at the Walker Art Center this past weekend. He showed audiences his closeups. It was an interesting show, considering he didn't display photographs or paintings on a wall -- he zoomed in using dance on a stark black stage.

The show, entitled Boléro Variations, included Hoghe himself along with dancers Ornella Balestra, Lorenzo De Brabandere, Ammanuel Eggermont, Yutake Takei, and Nabil Yahia-Aïssa*. They danced to 15 different songs in the style of Boléro; all the songs were beautiful except for one version which I thought was funny. The music itself was fine, but the version they danced to was also used for an ice-skating competition. So the audience heard how it sounds on tv -- cheering, the commentators, and worst of all, that booming echoing and distorted sound of classical music in a large stadium.

To put it simply, the dance moves were slow. But slow does not by any means mean simple. Slowing down the motions caused the small details become larger, and then those details seemed to morph into something different altogether. Like when you stare at a word until it no longer looks like a word, for instance. It was in this way that Boléro Variations began to feel like a show of closeups. To even the untrained eye -- mine -- many dance steps and postures were recognizable throughout the show. They were glimmers of recognition throughout the performance -- the flourish of a matador, the smooth steps of an ice-skater skating backward, the precise pose of a flamenco dancer with castanets, and even roboto! At one point I think I even saw the I'm A Little Tea Cup pose, but again -- my dance eye is not a trained one.

It quickly became obvious that this must have been a very physically demanding show for the performers. It was like watching a strong-man show, but the men lifting 500 pounds in each hand were not allowed that initial burst of energy to get the weights in the air. And again, the slowness of the dancing couldn't help but force a closeup look, and the repetition caused second guesses at what I was actually seeing. At many points during the 2-hour long performance I was no longer seeing people, but organisms moving about. At other times I was seeing human bodies, but unable to distinguish what may be different or strange from one set of bulging muscles to the next.

There were a handful of moments when the action sped up, such as during a Jitterbug sequence, or when Hoghe zig-zagged about the stage, sashaying and spraying what could have been perfume. Highly enjoyable.

Here are some interesting facts about Hoghe via Galen Treuer for the Walker Blogs, as well as Hoghe's website

*Nabil Yahia-Aïssa, sadly, was not able to perform due to very last-minute problems with his Visa. The Department of Homeland Security has a problem with the fact that he was born in Algeria.