Normality No More
What do we consider to be normal? And who decides? In Normality No More - a fusion of musical theatre, modern dance and classical music – three highly rated companies create a neurodiverse experience on stage. Boundaries between normal and strange, neurotypical and neurodiverse, spectator and participant will disappear. Where are you on the spectrum?
A bestseller in classical music, Schubert's Winterreise, is deconstructed to the bone and rebuilt all over again. In the original Winterreise, the protagonist embarks on a lonely winter journey after his love has left him. Seeking inner peace, but tormented and haunted by memories, he is left on the ice in despair. In Normality No More modern dance, musical theatre and classical music fuse into a new version: an ode to the divergent brain and a call for understanding and empathy for people who experience the world differently than the great masses.
Run time 80 minutes
Genre Music theatre, Dance
Language This dance performance includes songs and monologues in different languages: Dutch, English and German. After the performance, the texts are available for post-performance reading in Dutch and English.
Please note: The performance contains a few moments where the percussion may be experienced a bit louder.
Normality No More
In Normality No More all dancers, musicians and actors play a character inspired by both personal experiences and scientific research on neurodiversity. They all show their strength and vulnerability, embracing their own diversity while longing for social integration. The audience experiences what it is like to step into the shoes of people perceived as 'strange' and discovers the unique, multifaceted and wonderful qualities of the neurodiverse human being.
Ragazze Quartet made a version for baritone and string quartet of Winterreise before. The song cycle was originally written for baritone and piano to a poetry collection by Willhelm Müller. In Normality No More, Ragazze Quartet assembles a multi-coloured ensemble with an unusual combination of instruments and styles. With countertenor, jazz vocals, string quartet, electronics, keys, percussion and bagpipes, Schubert's music transforms into a completely new, neurodiverse alternative ranging from pulsating electro-pop to hypnotic string glissandi and Surinamese dance rhythms.
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The performance Normality No More is the artistic outcome of a collaboration between Dagmar Slagmolen (Via Berlin), choreographer Davide Bellotta (Conny Janssen Danst) and Ragazze Quartet under the final direction of Ria Marks and with advice from Conny Janssen.
Expo Normality No More
Neurodiversity through the eyes of students from the University of Amsterdam (UvA)
In the month January 240 UvA students worked together with social partners of Via Berlin (Cordaan, Sensa Zorg, Hecaton and UvA Diversity Office) to do research on the thema neurodiversity.
After following various workshops, the students have processed their research results into artistic expressions to stimulate curiosity for their research in a different way than a written report. Discover all art forms by following the route. Along the way, you will encounter flags as storytellers, stories in photos, spoken word, creative wrting and s special dance duet.
You can visit the expo before the start of the performance from 19:15 on the 28th of January and from 19:35 on the 29th of January.
REVIEWS
Trouw
“The musical collaboration in Normality No More is nothing short of a triumph.”
Theaterkrant (Critic's Choice)
“Normality No More is among those rare theatrical experiences that continue to reverberate in the memory and nervous system for a long time.”
Het Parool
“A dazzling and expressive celebration of neurodiversity.”
Credits
concept Ragazze Quartet, Dagmar Slagmolen and Davide Bellotta
direction Ria Marks
choreography Davide Bellotta
coaching and advice Conny Janssen
stage design Thomas Rupert
costume design Dieuweke van Reij
light design Remko van Wely
sound design Robert van Delft
rehearsal director Erik Spruijt
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text Lucky Fonz III, Dagmar Slagmolen e.a.
musical advice & arrangements Jan Pieter Koch
photographer Raymond de Vries
actor Dagmar Slagmolen
dancers Adi Amit, Thomas Fauc (stage), Yanaika Holle, Kenji van Nieuwenhuizen, Gaspar Ribeiro, Mariko Shimoda and Yashasvi Shrotriya
musicians Rosa Arnold, Annemijn Bergkotte, Nathalie Flintrop, Arturo den Hartog, Vitaly Medvedev, Enric Monfort, Genevieve Murphy, Ntjam Rosie and Jeanita Vriens
photographer (scene) Andreas Terlaak
