Day 11: Fav Duet (Dance/Plot)
After seeing all the other posts for Day 11, I'm starting to think this day should be "Fav Duet, and tell us why it's Apollo/Cassandra in Klub."
But still...
This is where I start to cry as I try to choose only one.
This show is chocked full of incredible duets. In fact, I would say that duets create the majority of the dances.
I'm trying to list them all in my head. It's not going well. Or it's going too well, depending on how you look at it.
There are duets I loved because of their beauty. Duets that affected me emotionally. There are duets that brought me such joy and laughter. There are also duets that told such intricate stories that it is almost impossible to consider them in the same realm of the question.
But, like the majority I've seen so far: the duet I'm choosing is Apollo and Cassandra in Klub. Out of the tryptic of dances at the beginning of Apollo and Cassandra's loop, this is the one I feel we saw the most of the personality of the two characters, and the differences in their performers and how they were interpreting this incredible emotional journey.
This is the one and only time (in my opinion) that we see Cassandra's truly playful side. She is reverent before, scared and angry afterwards. She is determined later in the loop. Vengeful even. But never playful except in this one short scene.
As well as being a beautiful and emotional duet, this scene also contains some of my favourite dance phrases.
Ingrid Kapteyn's Cassandra experiencing such glee and excitement as she tests her new gifts, hips swaying and hair flowing.
Georges Hann's Apollo firing an arrow at Cassandra as she uses her newfound gift of prophecy to escape his every move.
Seirian Griffiths' Apollo's whirling, chaotic, screaming smackdown of Cassandra, sending her to the floor. The timing and power of it is gasp-inducing.
Seirian Apollo standing on the U shaped bench, and Pin Chieh Cassandra in the space between the seats, as Apollo moves on top of the seats, directing Cassandra to dance the way he chooses.
Or perhaps he's dancing to her tune... Depends on how you look at it.
Where my choice of a favourite solo was so performer dependent, this dance gets top spot because I have loved it so completely no matter the pairing of performers. Each pairing brings something new, exciting, and stunning to the portrayal.
When I first heard that Tim Bartlett (one of my early favourite performers) would finally be playing Apollo (something I had wanted to see for the entire run of the show to that point,) this was the dance I was most excited for. And he twisted his half of this duet into something so dark and furious. The commanding and belittling tone he put into some of his moves was an entirely different experience. Reaching for Cassandra's hand at the end, there was nothing apologetic about it, unlike with the other Apollos I saw and loved. Apollo had already made his decision, and it was Cassandra's refusal that cemented it.
This twist of the performance, even with the same choreography and timings, really solidified what I already knew: that these performers are all impossibly talented. That as little as a facial expression, or the motion of a single gesture, could switch out an entire character for me.
Which, leads me back to why this is my favourite duet. Because it is this dance that says the most about Apollo and Cassandra's tragic relationship, which is, for me, one of the most emotional stories in the show.
Some other duets that were in the running for my personal favourite:
Blue Monday (Artemis and Apollo in Peep)
Battle of the Worlds (Artemis and Apollo lightning dance)
Apollo gifts Cassandra with Prophecy
Apollo curses Cassandra to never be believed
Apollo and Zagreus in the Crate Room
Zagreus and Eurydice on the DDR
Apollo and Zagreus chase from Troy to Mycenae
Neoptolemus tries to save Patroclus
Patroclus and Iphigenia in Ciaccos
Artemis revives Iphigenia
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