German Choreographer Sasha Waltz’s research into music and movement continues, as her company returns to the REF with a double bill: a confrontation with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and a new composition, especially commissioned from Diego Noguera. Thirteen male and female dancers appear on stage in the name of artistic freedom, to engage in a visual discourse between classicism and contemporaneity.
Bio
In 2023, Sasha Waltz & Guests celebrates its 30th anniversary: the company was founded by Sasha Waltz and Jochen Sandig in Berlin in 1993. To date, numerous artists and ensembles from the fields of architecture, visual arts, choreography, film, design, literature, fashion and music from more than 60 countries have collaborated as »Guests« on over 100 productions, »Dialoge« projects and films. Sasha Waltz & Guests works in a constantly evolving international and national network of production and guest performance partners, and since its foundation in 1993 has performed at over 300 venues and festivals in more than 50 countries and 180 cities. Today, the company is showing its current repertoire of 12 active pieces in about 80 performances each year. In Berlin, the company cooperates with a wide
range of municipal theatres, opera houses and museums and has contributed to establishing new cultural institutions, such as Sophiensæle (1996), St. Elisabeth-Kirche (2004) and Radialsystem (2006). In 2013, the company was named »European Cultural Ambassador« by
the European Union. In 2014, Sasha Waltz & Guests was awarded the »Tabori Ehrenpreis« by the Fonds Darstellende Künste. Apart from Berlin stagings, national and international guest performances and the continual work on the repertoire, Sasha Waltz & Guests has been increasingly committed to educational and social projects. In 2007, the »Kindertanzcompany« (Children’s Dance Company) was founded and since 2016 the interdisciplinary and open exchange platform titled »ZUHÖREN« has served as a »third space for art and politics«.
Alongside these initiatives, the company continues to propose diverse offers in the field of knowledge transfer. With the work »In C«, based on Terry Riley’s open composition of the same name, a system with an internationally growing community has been developing since
spring 2021: the choreographic material was recorded in video tutorials to enable the easy transfer of knowledge. As a result, participatory, diverse, international and sustainable »In C« projects, workshop formats and ever-new structures have emerged worldwide. Sasha Waltz & Guests is funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Community
Credits
Concept and choreography: Sasha Waltz
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven, Diego Noguera
Costumes: Federico Polucci, Bernd Skodzig
Lighting: Martin Hauk
Dramaturgy: Christopher Drum, Jochen Sandig
Repetition: Yael Schnell
Dance and choreography: Clementine Deluy, Rosa Dicuonzo, Edivaldo Ernesto, Tian Gao, Eva Georgitsopoulou, Hwanhee Hwang, Annapaola Leso, Jaan Mannima, Sean Nederlof, Virgis Puodziunas, Sasa Queliz, Zaratiana Randrianantenaina, Orlando Rodriguez
