When I started writing about dance years and years ago, I always made sure to go to shows well prepared: I read the programme notes, sought out interviews with the artist, did my research. But with time, I started feeling that expectations and explanations can get in the way of seeing an artwork for what it is. So lately, I stopped preparing: I just go with an open mind, and let myself be surprised. And French-Catalan duo Baro d’evel did surprise me: with their humanity, their versatility and their sense of humour.
Camille Decourtye and Blaï Mateu Trias both come from traditional circus families (she spent her childhood travelling in trailers and on horseback; his parents are clowns), but their magic doesn’t lie in breathtaking acrobatics. In their show Là, the most dangerous-looking of their stunts is when she stands on his shoulders as he circles around the stage, or when both of them try to get off a high wall in a very funny scene. Because that’s what their magic really entails: being funny, frail and heartwarming as they try to understand each other (and perhaps themselves) across languages and artforms. Theirs is a total theatre: they switch between speaking, dancing, singing and painting with natural ease. They do all of these with a lot of flair, but Trias is most memorable for his expressive body language, and Decourtye for her powerful voice.
All this takes place in a surprisingly movie-like black and white aesthetic, which is completed by the third performer: Gus, the pied crow. It would be so easy for the creators to rely on the trained animal’s jaw-dropping effect, but the human duo doesn’t let Gus steal the show: the bird is just another accessory to Baro d’evel’s curious world.
Tension rises as Trias creates both sound and visual art by repeatedly throwing a corded mic on the white canvas walls all around: each thump leaves a black imprint, and slowly, a strange painting starts to take shape. By the end of the scene, a brand-new landscape fills the stage. Every action has its mark – both on stage and in real life.
