DREAM TEAM
World premieres of Virginie Brunelle and The Blue Bride by Barak Marshall
Premiere of Eric Gauthier, Podcast Vol. 1 & 2
as well as Alejandro Cerrudo, Lickety-Split and Nacho Duato, Jardi Tancat
One year after the sensationally successful debut with RENAISSANCE, the Gauthier Dance JUNIORS present a second own program consisting of two world premieres, two proven classics of contemporary dance, and a completely new podcast format hosted by Eric Gauthier. The original title of the concept evening was: Something old something new something borrowed something blue, as the good luck tradition for bridal dresses demands in the Anglo-Saxon world. And indeed, each of the four pieces refers to one of the four elements of luck. Together, they are also meant to bring the Gauthier Dance JUNIORS much luck for their future in dance!
Something old: A distinctly appropriate choice for the JUNIORS is Jardi Tancat (Catalan for an enclosed garden). Nacho Duato created his choreographic debut in 1983 for a junior company, NDT 2. The atmospheric piece is named after the album of the Catalan folk singer Maria del Mar Bonet, an icon of resistance against the Franco regime. The lyrics and the dance of the three couples dressed in earthy colors evoke the harsh rural life, in the tireless struggle against the drought and barrenness of the Catalan soil.
Something new: Virginie Brunelle is considered one of the great hopes of Canadian dance. Anyone who knows the two previous collaborations with Gauthier Dance will confirm this. The intimate, poetic group piece Beating for the concept evening Grandes Dames aimed to synchronize the heartbeats of the performers. In the passionate solo Off White for The Dying Swans Project, which she created during the pandemic via Zoom from Canada, she had a dancer run a storm against loneliness. Her next world premiere for the JUNIORS is already in the pipeline. The excitement is rising!
Something borrowed: Lickety-Split - meaning immediately, at lightning speed - comes across as rather relaxed, despite its fast-paced title, above all very human and humorous. To the hypnotic music of Californian indie-folk singer Devendra Banhart, Alejandro Cerrudo, then the resident choreographer of Hubbard Street Dance Company Chicago, sketched the encounter of three couples: sensual, mysterious, and with a touch of eccentricity. In one of its first seasons, Gauthier Dance included the piece in the program as part of the dance evening Lucky Seven in 2011. Now it is time to pass this dance jewel on to the next young theater company...
Something blue: Barak Marshall's The Blue Bride is a winking lesson on a doomed love and the dangers of naivety, blind obedience, and jealousy. In the style of a Moritat, it begins with the bride at the altar, waiting in vain for her groom, and ends with a gruesomely funny wedding massacre. The color blue in the title refers to the psychological instability of the abused bride, who morphs into a avenger and murderer throughout the piece. Sarcastic, witty, and underscored with love songs from around the world, The Blue Bride promises to be an extremely entertaining, fast-paced tragicomedy.
In addition to the four good luck choreographies, Eric Gauthier explores in a very special new format what brings the claim “Dream Team” to life. As host of a podcast format, he will - as in a radio show - talk in two blocks about the theme of artistic collaboration. In Podcast Vol. 1, he interviews the involved choreographers: How does the artistic approach differ in a group piece compared to solos or pas de deux? In Podcast Vol. 2, conversations follow with the performers - the JUNIORS. How does the dance collaboration work best? And when and how does the “Dream Team Spirit” arise?
Contributors
Choreography
Virginie Brunelle
Barak Marshall
Eric Gauthier
Alejandro Cerrudo
Nacho Duato
Artistic Direction
Eric Gauthier
Ballet Master
Tara Yipp
Dance
Rebecca Amoroso
Rong Chang
Atticus Dobbie
Garance Goutard-Dekeyser
Joan Jansana Escobedo
Mathilde Roberge
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
