Les ballets C de la B will premiere their most recent production, “Out of Context — for Pina,” at the Drake Performance and Event Center’s Thurber Theatre 8 p.m. on Friday.
The Wexner Center for the Arts will host the performance, which is the debut of “Out of Context” in the U.S. The ballet will travel to one other U.S. city before making its debut in Canada.
“People know this production is only coming to Columbus and New York City, so they know it’s a pretty special event,” said Charles Helm, director of performing arts at the Wexner Center.
Les ballets C de la B are a renowned dance company based out of Ghent, Belgium. The company is acclaimed for its dynamic platform, which integrates surrealism and emotion into poetry of movement.
“Out of Context” is a production culminated by les ballets C de la B’s founder, Alain Platel. Platel dedicated the piece to his inspiration and mentor, Pina Bausch, who passed away in June 2009.
Through each of Platel’s pieces, he tries to intensify emotion as it relates to the anxieties that are held in the modern world. He executes this theme in “Out of Context” with eclectic and dazed motions.
The troupe has debuted two other performances at the Wexner Center. In 1996, Platel brought his piece “Les Tristeza Complice” to the Columbus area with raving reviews from the audience.
In 2003, the production “Foi” premiered at the Wexner Center as the only American performance.
The company’s identity is truly the avant-garde of style and technique, Helm said.
It is commonly misunderstood in America that les ballets C de la B is a ballet company, but in Europe, ballet simply means dance.
“I’m excited because I’ve heard amazing things about the company,” said Emily Claman, a second-year in dance. “It’s always exciting to see the dance in a non-classical or traditional way.”
