Still life
Inspired by radical Japanese butoh dance and the human voice, Alan Lucien Øyen goes in search of a connection to the world and pure human expression. One of the trendsetters in contemporary theatre dance in Europe, he brings this quest to life by growing still and simplifying.
Festival Julidans
Programme section Julidans On Stage
Dutch premiere
Location Theater Bellevue
Venue Grote Zaal
Run time 70 minutes
Genre Dance
Language Language no problem
Still Life
In Still Life, choreographer and theatre-maker Alan Lucien Øyen and his company Winter Guests explore how, amid the meteoric developments of communication tools, technology and virtual networks, we can restore our relationship with ourselves, with each other and with the living world.
To do so, Øyen returns to the analogue purity of the natural world and explores it through dance, movement and stillness. Through human voices – whispers, humming and harmonies – he explores the essence of human expression.
In Still Life, the roles are performed by Mirai Moriyama and Daniel Proietto, who specialise in the ultra-physical and hyper-aesthetic butoh dance form, that emerged in response to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with the title underscoring the duality of life and death.
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Øyen sees that core of butoh as a metaphor for our times, where nature is dying and we ourselves are stuck in our 'still lives' – alive, but dying.
Øyen aims for the utmost sincerity in a staging that, in his own words ‘does not deceive itself’. He uses simple theatrical means, such as painted backgrounds of landscapes: an ocean, a forest, or nature – without theatrical trappings.
Alan Lucien Øyen, one of Europe's most remarkable and leading artists, is known for his multidisciplinary works of deep emotional, cinematic and dramatic power, performed in collaboration with renowned companies such as the Netherlands Dance Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet and Tanztheater Wuppertal.
About Alan Lucien Øyen
Alan Lucien Øyen is one of the most exciting artists from Norway today, whose work as writer, director and choreographer has been highly acclaimed in his home country and abroad.
Whether it's theatre, dance or film, Alan's works have a highly emotional and dramatic drive. His choreographic language is complex and technically challenging. His works are informed by the world around him which allows him to draw inspiration from a myriad of sources including high art and popular culture as well as personal conversations and experiences - always in pursuit of a sincere and human expression.
Alan has won several awards, both for his choreographic works as well as his theatre productions. His a six hour long play “Coelacanth”, (co-written with Andrew Wale), won him the prestigious HEDDA Award, (Norwegian Theatre Awards), for Best Original Play, as well as three other nominations including Best Director and Best Play.
Credits
created by Alan Lucien Øyen
with Mirai Moriyama, Daniel Proietto
produced by winter guests
in co-production with La Biennale – Venezia, Julidans Amsterdam, Dansens Hus, Oslo, Rüm För Dans, Halland
supported by Arts Council, Norway, AiRK - Kobe, The Norwegian Opera and Ballet, Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern
direction / choreography / text Alan Lucien Øyen
set and costume design Aida Vainieri / Alan Lucien Øyen
scenography assistant Ayana Ishihara
composer Henrik Skram
sound design Mathias Grønsdal
light design Martin Flack
technical director/lights technician Chris Sanders -|-
stage manager Danny Hones
producer/tour manager Isaïe Richard
still photography Mats Bäcker
ocean backdrop by Christof Beck, Celina Fuchts, Anatoli Detzel
additional music by Olafur Arnalds, Richard Skelton, Hanan Townshend, Alex Kozobolis, Sylvian Chauveau, Goldmund, Daniel Hart, Thomas Newman
touring agent Menno Plukker Theatre Agent
the choreography is created in close collaboration with Mirai Moriyama and Daniel Proietto