Artifact 2017: Boston Ballet x William Forsythe

Something you may not know about me is that I was very involved in theater growing up and even held starring roles in plays. It’s something that fell by the wayside as I got older and my creativity was expressed in new ways, but getting lost in a production has always been good for my soul.

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Back in December, I was invited by the Boston Ballet to see The Nutcracker, which is a Boston tradition. I hadn’t been in years and it was even more spectacular than I’d remembered. So when I was invited to the North American premiere of Forsythe’s Artifact 2017, I said yes immediately!

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Artifact, choreographed by William Forsythe, originally debuted in Frankfurt in 1984. Having brought the original production to fruition in only three weeks, it has been tweaked over time and the last act was changed yet again for the Boston Ballet. Isn’t that supremely cool? After all, the ability to evolve your work is not an easy task.

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Just as in December, I was transfixed and almost lulled by the skill of the dancers and the production value. However, Artifact is very different from The Nutcracker, weaving aspects of theater (including some speaking roles) into the show. The costumes and sets are also more minimal, but that’s because it’s unecessary. At any given time, there was up to 40(!) members of the ensemble performing. My mum and I both said perhaps the most impressive part of all was the precision of syncronization. To see so many dancers moving as one was insane! I cannot imagine the amount of discipline and skill that must go into it.

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Artifact runs at the Boston Opera House through March 5th. Please go, I promise you’ll love it! I was provided two tickets, but all opinions are my own. And my opinion is that this is an incredible production 🙂

Have you ever been into dance or theater?