In life, things get broken with little chance of repair: toys, clothes, homes, hearts. But often, life finds a way to balance it all out, to compensate and rearrange. Not always though. Sometimes there are no happy endings.
Except, perhaps, for audiences who desired to see a completed trifecta from L-E-V (Hebrew for heart), an Israeli-founded dance company based in France. In 2018, they brought OCD Love (the de-facto chapter one in this trilogy) and Love Chapter 2 to the Edinburgh International Festival.
Evident by the anti-Israel protestors lining the street outside the Festival Theatre, there’s a negative reaction to Sharon Eyal’s work and her presence at the International Festival. Resolute, Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart continues onward and the resilience and passion within the show emanate throughout. Intensive solo routines littering the show – a clear and distinctive drive of survival and purpose, even as the repetitious failures and symbolic ‘restarts’ find dancers picking themselves up, dusting themselves, and starting over.
In the endless pursuit for love of any nature, the dancers face no choice but to turn to one another. They’re drawn back like addicts even when the futility of it all seems to be mounting. Given the odd-number of dancers, it becomes clear that even in ensemble routines, someone will always be alone. Despite the nine-strong troupe being clustered and herded as one, Chapter 3 feels remarkably isolating.
With the glittering red gems of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s embroidered bodysuits, there’s little for the dancers to deceive audiences with. It makes the performance a thoroughly honest production with few bells and whistles outside of skilful demi pointes, enhanced by militaristic and precise choreography.
In pushing against the current of clichés surrounding love however, Eyal and Gai Behar actually lean too heavily in the opposite direction. Jittery, even unbalanced, the swaying and rhythmic motions are thrown somewhat out of sync on occasion. Moreover, the lack of set design, combined with the tight costumes, make any out of step move all the more obvious to the audiences.
With the ethereal score weaving from blues to folk to Afrobeat, Chapter 3 is an intense and snaking journey through love and relationships. One which occasionally pitches itself too extremely in swerving between highs and lows in order to avoid cliché, ultimately weakening its intoxicating emotional resonance.