Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.An obscure species of jellyfish lends its name to Wayne McGregor’s latest production, Deepstaria — and that seems fitting. The British choreographer has spent many years turning dancers into boneless-looking creatures who push and pull their spines and limbs into ever more acrobatic shapes onstage.The trouble is, even extreme physical feats can get repetitive. McGregor is a prolific movement-making machine, but his works rarely feel honed to their fullest potential. Much of Deepstaria, which had its world premiere at the Montpellier Danse festival, is standard fare for his company, all the way down to the minimalist underwear worn as costumes. Nine excellent dancers ripple through forceful sequences, wrap themselves around each other, occasionally pause mid-hyperextension.McGregor is a tech enthusiast, and so Deepstaria involves something called Vantablack Vision, used to create “unfathomable darkness” on stage, though this effect was negated by bright exit signs on both sides of the Corum auditorium. Meanwhile, the score is credited to sound designer Nicolas Becker and music producer LEXX, but was “recomposed” live by the AI technology Bronze, which sounds like a 21st-century spin on choreographer Merce Cunningham’s chance protocols.There are some genuinely lovely scenes, including a duet for two men in white that brings tender focus to the partnering between them. Near the end, McGregor nods more overtly to his deep-sea inspiration, with gossamer tunics, floaty arms and hands darting in rays of light. However, the choreography rarely dives under the surface to reveal its human impetus.★★★☆☆By contrast, the same night, Saburo Teshigawara found arresting humanity and purpose in the smallest of gestures. The 70-year-old Japanese master still performs live, and it feels as if he has poured decades of experience into Voice of Desert, the new work he presented in Montpellier’s open-air Agora.Teshigawara cuts a deliberately frail figure on stage at the start, turning back and forth, his hands reaching timidly, as if lost in space. He crosses paths with a woman, longtime collaborator Rihoko Sato, yet keeps missing her. Then, classical music brings bursts of sudden virtuosity from both, like layers of physical memory returning to the surface, Sato tracing spellbinding curves in space.Another woman, Kei Miyata, lurks in the background, and two younger figures waltz on and off the stage like ghosts. Voice of Desert reads like a meditation on ageing, at times even a farewell. It also celebrates the quiet mastery and power of highly experienced performers. As Montpellier Danse prepares for a farewell of its own — that of director Jean-Paul Montanari, after a 41-year tenure — Teshigawara met the moment.★★★★★Festival continues to July 6, montpellierdanse.com
