2006: Protocol of Desire
Volkskrant 06/11/02
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translation:
On the other hand, in Double Intuition #2 the eccentric choreographer and fashion-show director Martin Butler is precisely looking for a deep affinity with performer Renée Copraij, a former dancer and assistant director to Jan Fabre. Uniformly, they walk about in the almost empty rectangle – one dressed in a smart grey, the other in a sober black-and-white suit.
The subtle, roundabout advances are quite an invention. First, from a distance they make two whitewood chairs tilt against each other by way of ropes. Then they present erotic positions from the Kamasutra in shadow play, in which only their projected images are making love. And Butler’s affinity with fashion is tangible in the painstaking aesthetics: wigs, vests, lamp – everything is in tune.
The driving spirit behind this performance is the distorted live music played on an electric harp as well as on a modern version of the street organ. But with their slow progress, Butler and Copraij rely heavily on the spectator’s conceptual empathy. The consequent realisation commands respect, but it would have all been more exciting in the third gear than in the first one.
Annette Embrechts, de Volkskrant 2 November, 2006
Trouw 06/11/02
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translation:
On behalf of this programme, Martin Butler and Renée Copraij have made a too drawn-out, yet amazingly theatrical translation of this longing for contact. An Armando-like world of poised quietude is placed alongside of a capricious acceleration, full of animality, which is aloofly projected onto the fly curtain by way of stroboscopic lights. In doing so, it becomes clear that man is a victim to his passions and has very little control of his existence.
With this opening of caDance, one may certainly state that contemporary dance is getting closer and closer to real life.
Sander Hiskemuller, Trouw 2 November, 2006


