VIDEOS
Verklärte Nacht
Choreography by Davidson Farias after the poem by Richard Dehmels
Music by Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Interpreted by Lisa Pavlov and Mihael Belilov
Transfigured Night (Verklärte Nacht) is a poem by Richard Dehmel from 1896. The poem explores love, sin, redemption, and the transformative power of acceptance. The poem challenges societal norms and religious expectations, as it portrays a compassionate and understanding response to the woman's confession of infidelity, which was an explicit and controversial subject matter back then. It also reflects the impressionistic style of the time.
Impressionism, an artistic movement that flourished in the late 19th century, aimed to capture transient moments and sensory impressions. Dehmel's poem paints vivid imagery and the emotions surrounding the couple's conversation, resembling the impressionistic style in literature. It lies in its exploration of complex human emotions and the moral dilemmas faced by individuals in relationships and society. It challenges conventional notions of sin and redemption, offering a more subtle perspective of love. It expresses the transformative power of love, acceptance, and understanding, illustrating empathy and forgiveness. On the other hand, it suggests the presence of rememberings and their lingering impact on an individual. It implies the recurrence of experiences, impacting the present and uncertainty of the future.
Duality
Choreography by Davidson Farias
Music by Rio Wolta
Dancers: Amélie Demont and Clara Demont
The work was inspired by "The Birth of Tragedy," a philosophical work by Friedrich Nietzsche that explores the origins of Greek tragedy and the Apollonian and Dionysian forces in human nature. The Apollonian aspect represents the rational, logical, and ordered part of our nature, while the Dionysian represents the irrational, emotional, and chaotic part.
In a world where people are constantly bombarded with information and stimuli, the Apollonian-Dionysian theme reminds us of the importance of finding balance in our lives. We need to embrace both our rational and irrational sides in order to be fully human and experience the full range of emotions that life has to offer. In the creative process, the tension between reason and emotion, order and chaos, and tradition and innovation have been used as a basis for the piece. It encourages us to question and challenge established norms and conventions to create something new and meaningful.
Matter of Change
Choreography by Davidson Farias
Music by Roger Goula
Dancers: Students of Boris Eifman Dance Academy
Nietzche claimed that human beings must craft their own identity through self-realization and do so without relying on anything transcending that life itself.
And while going through my own personal, painful changes in life. I reached across a small poem written by a friend who talks in a simple transformation exemplar, yet profoundly deep. That was the start point for the creation of the piece. "The caterpillar may not "want" to wrap itself in a silk cocoon, but every cell in its being yearns to fly...even if you don't quite know it yet, you, too, have wings: Let go, they will carry you..." Must we craft ourselves to become who we are? Or, as the caterpillar, is it in our DNA code who we mean to be?
Voices
Choreographers in Residence Zürich
Choreography by Davidson Farias
Music by Ben Frost
Dancers: Nina Ritter Egon Gerber Maximo Guenin Jana Dunner Charly Kofi Boanyah
We deal with the demons inside our heads that create an abstract story between the past and present. These real and imagined voices can shape our perceptions and guide our actions.
They can be positive, providing encouragement and support, or negative, feeding us with self-doubt and criticism. The voices we hear are echoes of our own thoughts, while other times, they come from external sources.
Whatever their origin, these voices can profoundly impact our lives and shape who we are as individuals and as a society.
Who was killed by the bear? Who kills the bear? As an analogy for the struggle in what's actual reality is.
Our valleys are always uncanny
Choreography by Davidson Farias
Assistent Choreographer: Evelin Skarlatos
Music by Raime - Uncanny Valley
Costumes: Berend Voorhaar und Sabrina Zyla, Karisma-Costumes
Dancers: Gianna Bassan, Luca Di Giorgio, Francine Hoenner, Dave Lankhorst, Koko Nishikawa, Viviane Von Gunten, Camille Zany
The piece was inspired by the hypothesis of Uncanny Valley, the view of movements within research by classical and contemporary dance. The “Uncanny valley” effect is a characteristic of emotional response that occurs when we humans encounter an almost but not quite human entity. Are we humans seeking to become more humanoids, and Robots are adorning more and more to be like humans?