Cortège
[Procession]
Cortège is a meditation on departures. It reflects on both the desire for self emancipation and the weight we carry from those no longer with us. Accompanied by a powerful, original arrangement of Maurice Ravel’s Pavane Pour une Infant Défunte, recorded for the film by members of the Royal Opera Flanders Orchestra, Cortège follows eight dancers as they ascend the stunning interior landscape of architect Zaha Hadid’s famous Havenhuis. The individuality and beauty of the dancers (of Royal Opera Ballet Flanders, joined on camera by three singers and musicians also of the Opera) brings the Havenhuis to life, as they search for one another, gather to support a sunken companion, or peer from windows, reflecting on the grey world beyond. Accentuated by the bright, hand painted costumes designed by Veerle Van Den Wouwer, Cortège is a pondering of aesthetic and a contemplation on separation.