Bay 17, Carriageworks, Sydney
January 15, 2016

In 1982 at the age of 22, Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker was hailed as a visionary for her forensically detailed exploration of the minimalism of Steve Reich, Fase, and this breakthrough piece launched her career with meteoric fervour. Over three decades later, now firmly cemented as one of the world’s most respected (and intransigent) dance makers, the Belgian choreographer’s muse remains music, investigated with a level of probing, exhaustive focus that borders on the superhuman.

Vortex Temporum, created by De Keersmaeker in 2013, is an uncompromising setting of the music of French spectralist Gérard Grisey, but to say this is merely a choreographic response to the score would be a tremendous understatement. De Keersmaeker’s grasp of this piece is microscopic in its analysis. The density and interaction of the timbres, the nuance and eccentricity of the tempi, the breadth and flow of the harmony: there isn’t a single facet of this extraordinary soundworld that falls outside of her understanding. But this also offers a challenge for the audience. De Keersmaeker is single-minded in her task – nothing less than the absolute distillation of her source material is acceptable. This...