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Canela fina

The totalist and post-minimalist composition “Weather” by the American musician Michael Gordon provides an uncompromising ground for raising the forces of nature, which develop massively in Cayetano Soto's choreography “Canela fina”. The elements are out of order; some power has taken over control. High-speed athletes are conquering the stage, but there is something else in the air: Small gestures and movements uncover an energy which cannot be explained rationally. Slowly the atmosphere of sensual suspense turns into one of emotional tension and despair. The emotional state of emergency is omnipresent both in the intricate Pas de Deux and in the powerful group scenes. It is evoked by the nervous and repetitive rhythms of the music as well as by a repeatedly returning natural element: cinnamon, not only an aphrodisiac, but also a form of dust and thus reminiscent of the origin and final destination of all things. The piece shows a continuous interaction between external influences and the inner condition of human beings as represented by the movements of the dancers. However, the cinnamon is not to be taken literally but rather in a metaphorical sense, as suggested in the idiomatic title of the piece: “Canela fina”, literally “fine cinnamon”, means “the best you can imagine” and refers to the art of dancing as the most elaborate form of non-verbal communication.

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