From a Classical Position by Dana Caspersen and William Forsythe, music by Thom Willems

One of the world’s greatest choreographers, William Forsythe, and his talented, long-time collaborator Dana Caspersen experiment with classical form and contemporary unpredictability in their superbly unique ballet film, From a Classical Position! Performed by the choreographers themselves, From a Classical Position deconstructs and reimagines classical ballet movements through a contemporary lens. In minimal, muted costumes, the two dancers display moments of brutality and tenderness as they contort their bodies to shifting rhythms. Against a modest, shadowy backdrop, graceful ballet positions are unpicked and unarticulated to form twisted, tangled human shapes in a simple yet spellbinding art piece. The dialectical film editing interrupts linear sequences and plays with the spectators’ understanding of the dancers’ movements within the performance space. To an original piano composition by Thom Willems, former director of the Frankfurt Ballet, the two world-class dancers depict the evolution of a centuries-old art form, which all begins in the mythical classical position...