FALL

Introdans

In FALL, Introdans brings together two of the most important and celebrated contemporary choreographers of our time: British-Bengali Akram Khan and Flemish-Moroccan Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. As different as their backgrounds are, there are also many similarities between the two dance artists who once shared the stage together in the magisterial Zero Degrees. Both are master storytellers and passionate bridge-builders: in their work, they impressively connect diverse cultures, dance styles and art disciplines.

Run time 110 minutes, incl. intermission
Genre dance
Language language no problem

FALL

FALL is a programme that combines dynamism with stillness, and virtuosity with poetry. "Although the three choreographies in FALL are very challenging and imposing, they also exude a serene, meditative power at the same time. Afterwards you feel completely recharged; a relief in this often hurried and agitated world," says Roel Voorintholt, artistic director of Introdans.

Kaash
FALL opens with Akram Khan's Kaash, which caused an outright sensation at its world premiere in 2002 and brought the British-Bengali choreographer instant world fame. As a spectator, you have the feeling of stepping into a story, as it were, with Khan taking you into his special cosmos, in a dazzling mix of Indian kathak dance and contemporary dance. The dancers use their feet as percussion instruments, while their arms cut sharply through the air. Turner Prize-winner Anish Kapoor is responsible for the impressive stage design, Nitin Sawhney (who has written songs for many famous pop stars) composed the rousing Indian music.
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Pure
A lyrical, virtuosic and moving duet, full of extraordinary lifts. That is the best way to describe Pure by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. In the intimate choreography, Cherkaoui explores the theme of purity in a spiritual sense. What remains when you let go of all human desires? The female dancer in the duet paints herself with Japanese characters, creating something new, while on the other hand destroying the pure. Her partner lovingly erases the painted marks, as if he wants the marks that life has left on her to disappear. But despite all his tenderness, he cannot reverse the process.

Fall
FALL concludes with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's work of the same name, marking the seventh time Introdans - as one of the main treasurers of Cherkaoui's oeuvre - has added choreography by the Flemish-Moroccan grandmaster to its repertoire. Fall refers both to the falling and changing colour of autumn leaves and to the (dancer's) body's continuous struggle with gravity. Inspired by both and by the simplicity and meditative calm of Arvo Pärt's music, Cherkaoui developed hallucinatory cycles of falling and getting up, of endlessly flowing movements that never seem to end.

REVIEWS

de Volkskrant (about Kaash)

'Firework of movement and sound. The dancers excel. What an intriguing language and fantastic mastery!' -

The Times (about Kaash)

'Kaash stands as a striking work of pure dance that takes the spectator on a journey from the vast echo of outer space down into the red-hot centre of the Earth'

Dagblad van het Noorden (about Pure)

'A very pure gem'

ConcertNews.be (about Pure)

'Top of intimacy is Pure (...) a very precise duet, in which the dancers treat each other like porcelain'

Klassiek-centraal.be (about Fall)

'A rich sensual choreography, complex and interesting. Like leaves on the breath of the wind, the bodies move from high to low'

Pzazz (about Fall)

Dancers do not push solo moments into 'highlights': they remain part of a capricious flow of movements to Pärt's seductive, meditative music (...) The choreography engulfs you like a sweet rêverie'