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From Soft Sing-Song to Wild Howling – FNP

  • Katja Sturm 22.06.2024

From Soft Sing-Song to Wild Howling
The Dance Concert “Shout Aloud” at the Depot

Frankfurt – The eerily suspended, silvery-gray curtain begins to stir. Its edges, like the jagged peaks of a giant mountain range, point toward the ceiling. In front of it, a single woman dances wildly in the yellowish light of a spotlight shining from the background. The music, with its oriental influences, drives her, taking control of her body, becoming one with her. Her movements are simple but energetic. Above it all, adding to the surreal atmosphere, floats the voice of Dikla.

The Israeli singer and her nine instrumentalists unite with the eight performers from choreographer Yasmeen Godder’s company in Frankfurt for a dance concert titled “Shout Aloud,” where the two art forms meet as equals. The bodies reflect what the sounds and lyrics express, one flowing seamlessly into the other, and emotions take on new forms.

It feels as though there are no boundaries here, nothing remains hidden. This is evident from the very setting of this 75-minute evening. The sides of the stage in the deep, cavernous Bockenheimer Depot are lined with skeletal arches by Ofer Laufer, featuring a variety of light sources. Shahar Avnet has designed the dancers’ costumes—tight-fitting leotards and short shorts, barely concealed by tulle skirts and blouses.

At first, they sway in a sing-song. Sounds and dancers begin to break free, spreading out with howls and groans. Dikla steps onto a small platform, dressed in a long, black, shiny gown. To her left and right, the band plays, with instruments such as violin, guitar, ney (a long flute), darbuka (a goblet drum), and baglama (a long-necked lute), all adding their distinctive sounds to the unusual pop music, supporting Dikla’s powerful voice.

All eleven songs from Dikla’s debut album Ahava Musica (Love Music) are performed, and her fellow Israeli, Yasmeen Godder, who grew up in New York, has translated them into the language of movement.

The often wild moves have a playful, carefree quality that gives them a joyful touch. Gestures and facial expressions are used with precision—astonished looks, grotesque grimaces, hands bending sharply or covering mouths, yet failing to prevent the emotions from spilling out. At some point, pairs come together, rubbing against each other, hot and sweaty, erotic to the point of brutality. Then they move lightly again, hopping forward.

What the dancers do often seems as if they are not fully in control, as if the music is constantly pulsing through them, pushing them, pulling them along. The audience cannot resist this impressively harmonious interplay of expressive forces.