We're Spellbound by this Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui/Woodkid Collaboration

February 26, 2017

What do you get when you add Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui‘s choreography, Woodkid’s music and Drew Jacoby‘s legs? A nearly seven-minute video that is as hypnotic as it is envy-inducing.

Cherkaoui recruited Jacoby and fellow Royal Ballet of Flanders dancer Matt Foley to perform in “I Will Fall For You,” using movement from his 2015 work Fall to respond to Woodkid’s epically melancholy “Land of All.” Yoann Lemoine (the music artist behind Woodkid) co-directed the video with Cherkaoui, and the result is…well, magical. Sometimes setting contemporary ballet choreography to popular music can feel forced, but in this case the quiet power of the music and the movement amplify each other, drawing deeper meaning than either element might achieve on its own.

Jacoby begins with a sinuous solo that is so smooth and controlled that it gives the illusion that the footage must have been slowed down. (Who hasn’t missed her otherworldly dancing since she decamped to Europe?) Foley, an equally gorgeous mover, briefly takes over at the chorus before meeting Jacoby for a duet that showcases Cherkaoui’s ability to create partner work that is intriguingly architectural yet achingly human.

Check out the full video below.