review HEROES - de Volkskrant ★★★★
September 22, 2024
By: Annette Embrechts
The beautiful choreography ‘Iungo’, in Introdans’ ‘Heroes’ programme, sends the audience into ecstasy
The humorous, picturesque Boulevard of Broken Dreams (2021) by Israeli choreographer Inbal Pinto is also a delightful addition to the Arnhem dance company.
Laughter filled the air on Friday evening in Doetinchem during the premiere of Introdans’ four-part program Heroes. The opening choreography, Sh-Boom! (1994) by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, features men literally stripped down to their undershirts, and even barer at one point, with a cheeky silhouette backlit. The Introdans dancers turn this encounter between showy men in white and resolute women in black into a theatrical, cartoon-like spectacle. Dancers like Ruben Ameling-de Leeuw, Giuseppe Calabrese, Salvatore Castelli, Alberto Tardanico, Hayden Idrus, and Federico Tosello bring all their seductive dance energy to the performance with great flair.
This playful start is followed by a powerful and moving piece, Iungo (2008/2024) by Adriaan Luteijn. It’s a cohesive group work for eight Introdans dancers and two guest performers: Eva Eikhout (also a presenter and writer) and Joseph Tebandeke (born in Uganda).
The latter two steal the show with intense, energetic duets in which they emphasize both their connection and their individuality. Along with their eight colleagues, who first appear in a video as dancing cows galloping through a field, they turn Luteijn’s choreography around a fence into an incredibly touching encounter, sending the Doetinchem audience into a complete state of ecstasy on Friday evening.
The humorous, picturesque Boulevard of Broken Dreams (2021) by Israeli choreographer Inbal Pinto is also a delightful addition to the Arnhem dance company. Once again, it is the alert dancers who bring the humor, hidden in dresses, backdrops, movements, and sound effects, to life with flair.
Unfortunately, the closing piece Daily Hero (2013) by choreographer Regina van Berkel, which Introdans is also adding to its repertoire, feels a bit too much like a vehicle for a fashion show featuring recycled denim. But perhaps some audience members will spot their donated jeans or denim jackets.
