Nanine Linning: «Bacon»

Violence, love and death characterize the work of one of the most important painters, Francis Bacon. The body is one of the key elements in Bacon’s paintings, which he appears to make move with his sublime technique. Reason enough for choreographer Nanine Linning to take the strong emotions in his work as the point of departure for her performance.

Linning left the Scapino Ballet last year to be able to concentrate completely on her freelance carrier, which seems to have given her a new wealth of ideas and freedom. Her earlier, strict choreographic compositions left little room for emotion.

While clear structures, lineal interplay and spectacular lighting designs were her trademark in her well calculated, large-scale group pieces, in “Bacon” she seems to follow her instincts.

An impressive and shocking scene on stage greets the audience. Dancers hang upside down like corpses on strings. Other dancers are slowly crawling on to the stage, wriggling as they feel their way around their new territory. A V-shaped wall of large square bricks dominates the back of the dance floor. During the performance, video images by artist Jan Boiten are projected on to this wall: the hypnotic eyes of ...