Ballet Preljocaj’s ‘Gravity’ Fascinates and Flips Expectations

A hypnotic evening of dance, Ballet Preljocaj’s performance of Gravity on Wednesday was nothing short of mesmerizing. Watching twelve incredibly strong dancers move joyfully throughout an 80-minute program that seemingly defies gravity, liberates bodies from their weight, and frees them from all constraints — including the traditional vocabulary and movement of ballet — made for a fascinating evening of dance at the Granada. 

Starting with a puddle of bodies scattered on stage in near darkness, limbs gradually rise up from the pile and slowly form clusters until eventually all 12 dancers are upright and visible with a dawning stage light, set to the sound of cicadas chirping. Gravity, choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj in 2018, opens like a birth, as dancers explore the physical ideas of weight, speed, and pathways through space. 

As Preljocaj wrote in his Choreographer’s Note: “Gravitation is one of the four fundamental forces that govern the universe. It refers to the force which means two masses are attracted to one another. It is invisible, intangible, essential. But it is the force which creates the attraction that we call weight. For years, these issues of weight, space, speed, and mass have intuitively run through my choreographic experiments.

“My day-to-day work with the dancers leads me to experiment with forms whose basic components revolve around this question, which is both abstract and terribly concrete. Today, according to a principle of alternation between pieces based on pure research and more narrative ballets, I expect this set of problems involving gravity to open up new writing spaces for me.” 

The resultant work is unlike any I’ve seen before. In addition to a series of gorgeous episodes of duos, trios, and larger combinations of performers that move along and fit together quite nicely, despite the lack of conventional plot or narrative to hold the piece together, the work relies on stunning and varied choreography echoing Irish Step Dance, Martha Graham, and dozens of other influences to keep us raptly at attention. There’s also some clever use of music that includes pieces by Bach, Shostakovich, Iannis Xenakis, 79D, Philip Glass, Daft Punk, and a climax featuring Ravel’s Boléro to conclude this bewitchingly hypnotising performance.

A leading figure on the contemporary scene, it is easy to see why Preljocaj is so highly acclaimed, having witnessed both last week’s production of Gravity and 2023’s Swan Lake (see review here). Both shows were presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures as part of a dance series that consistently punches far above the weight of our town’s smallish population. Next up is Compagnie Hervé KOUBI on January 25, 2025.

As with Ballet Preljocaj’s previous productions we’ve seen in town, Gravity is once again a masterclass in composition and stunning sculptural poses, which make for a satisfying, thought-provoking evening of dance.