Review LARBI ★★★★ – Scènes

April 10, 2027
by Jos Schuring

Sidi Larbi is a global star. He has created choreographies for Beyoncé, Madonna and Lady Gaga, as well as for Introdans. The Arnhem-based company has long been the custodian of the Moroccan-Flemish choreographer’s work and holds exclusive rights to present it in the Netherlands. The new programme features three works, including a world premiere.

The evening opens with Fall from 2015, created for Ballet Vlaanderen, in which as many as twenty dancers perform to the well-known Fratres and Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt. The Estonian composer, like Philip Glass, is popular among choreographers for the minimalist structure of his music. The dancers form shifting patterns, falling and rising again. Duets grow into trios and larger groups, framed by large billowing curtains. Combined with the beautiful costumes and the impeccably executed choreography, Fall is a highly aesthetic experience. It may be slightly on the long side, but still impresses as a Gesamtkunstwerk.

This is followed by Residence, performed by Marc Brew and Nelson Parrish Earl. Brew was paralysed after a car accident, and together with Larbi he created an impressive choreography in 2024 that achieved international success. Residence explores vulnerability and control, as two dancers build a house and share a space. The fluid, sometimes organic movements of the two dancers are particularly striking, expressing an unbreakable trust that is deeply moving.

The evening concludes with In Memoriam, which Larbi created in 2004 and which reflects on memory. This performance gains an extra dimension through the heavenly singing of A Filetta, masters of Corsican polyphony. A large group of dancers searches for stability, caught in a struggle between present and past, grief and love, memory and reality. In Memoriam is both raw and tender. The inner calm of the movements can feel sorrowful at times, yet also comforting, giving the piece great emotional power.

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