FUEL

Cayetano Soto

In this new creation, Cayetano Soto is inspired by Fuel, a symphonic work for strings by Julia Wolfe. The American composer transposes the world of modern industry with its machines and fuels into dull metallic noises. Soto brings the human body back to this idea of a single substance that keeps the world in perpetual turmoil; as if the dancer was also animated by this mysterious energy. The choreographer alternates in contrast, challenging dynamic pas de deux and virtuoso technical execution, with static, immobile moments. In these moments of apparent slowdown, the dancers stand alone, incapable of rest. Conversely, they move nervously with small jerky movements, as if they were recharging. Invariably, they are swept away, depleting their energy, until their reservoir is empty.

"The world premiere – Fuel by Spanish choreographer Cayetano Soto – was frenetic, agitated, incredibly aggressive, causing feelings of anxiety and exhaustion in the audience who were sunk in their seats remaining silent until the end of the play, before the theater explodes into bravos and applause. (…) They (the dancers) spin and fight, the men resembling fantastical creatures straight out of a Tolkien novel: monstrous, powerful and lithe, arching their backs and hunching their shoulders with the fluidity of a creature, ready to attack. (…) This captivating dance was disconcerting but so breathtaking in its strangeness and agitation, that even when the dancers stop dancing it seems that their movements continue. It was impossible to look away."

- Andréa Nemetz, The Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Canada)