TRUE CRIME

a ballet triple Bill

Ballett am Rhein, Düsseldorf

Costume                                                                                               Bregje van Balen

Lighting                                                                                                     Christian Kass
Dramaturgy                                                                                                 Julia Schinke

For this ballet triple bill TRUE CRIME i created an abstract yet very versatile set that gives a framing for all three choreographies and that changes throughout the whole evening. Researching the subject, i chose a stark blue colored empty space with a huge grid of pendant lamps as a ceiling and a neon frame in the procenium and on the floor that reminds of an opened book. Having no orchestra gave us the possibility of using the space in the front as well, creating one huge unifying, abstract environment for all three pieces. Other elements are added or revealed in the progression of the piece. For the final piece of the evening, a curtain that usually is used to keep the cold out obscures the view on the setting at first. When lifted, we see the lighting towers rearranged and set like a huge film set, with more loose lamps on the ground. A piano player is on the scene and placed in the cage we saw in the choreography before. Playing Etudes from Rachmaninow, a thrilling mood is set. Slowly, the pendant lamps rise until out of sight and two moving lights enlighten the space like a slow motion siren.The neon frame changes its lights into a warm white for a glamourous, early Hollywood look. Demis Volpi focuses in "Non-Fiction Études" on the American author Truman Capote, who is considered a pioneer in the adaptation of "true crime" in literature with his 1966 novel "In Cold Blood", which is based on facts. Capote poses an important question: where lies the boundary between reality and artistic interpretation?