The Waste Land
Saturday 20 June, 8 pm
Teatro alle Tese – Arsenale
ARSENALE DELLA DANZA/ISMAEL IVO
world preview
created and choreographed by Ismael Ivo
music The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky
Frost Pattern by Andreas Bick
Scenery and costumes Marcel Kaskeline
with Arsenale della Danza dancers - Deniz Aygor, Beniamino Borghi, Monika Born, Ivelice Brown, Alessio Calciolari, Sara Catellani, Veronica Cornacchini, Eleonora Folegnani, Valeria Galluccio, Alice Guazzotti, Roberta Maffioletti, Simona Miraglia, Tomoko Ogawa, Rieko Okada, Stefano Roveda
Choreography assistants Franca Pagliassotto, Karl Schreiner
Production La Biennale di Venezia
Walking, running, falling.
A choreography inspired by an exploration of the senses and physical control which also reflects profoundly on one of the greatest problems of our era: the unfettered exploitation of the earth's natural resources and the survival of the planet.
The art of dance is a celebration which has always been bound up with the joy of movement. But we cannot avoid taking stock of the fact that we live on a vulnerable planet which is rapidly deteriorating into a state of degradation.
Walking, running, falling – we are constantly on the move and, at the same time, constantly falling. An essential physical action and a paradox bound up with the human capacity for survival. We are brutally reminded that global warming and climate change have taken the quality of our life cycle to the brink of the ultimate danger. Life goes on and we must move forward. It is thinking physically. Movement is generated by life's inner energies and struggle. Walking, running, falling. To arrive ‘close to the ground’ in a Zero Degrees state. But it is not a question of thinking but of reacting. A quest at the confines of choreographic practice.
Igor Stravinsky described the vision which overtook him quite suddenly thus: “In my imagination I saw a solemn pagan rite: an old wiseman sitting in a circle looking at a young girl dancing to her death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of the spring.”
I’m strangely fascinated with the photos of Sebastião Salgado. The photos he took in Serra Pelada, in Brazil, capture the mysterious movement of hundreds of workers digging a gigantic hole in search of a gram of gold. Covered from head to toe with mud, these sub-humans or new aliens are probably a reflection of our imaginations. Testifying to a sort of new slavery in a complex and economically ravaged society.
In The Waste Land, the starting point is the physical involvement of the body in a struggle for survival ceremony. It is a rite. It is a celebration which goes beyond celebration and prompts us to think about a range of issues. Our home is a place we call Mother Earth. Are we sure that next spring will come? We have changed earth’s fertility time frames. Peoples are torn apart by the bloody struggle to get our hands on the planet’s natural resources. The intensive exploitation of oil, as if it were “liquid gold”, has taken modern society to a point of no return. We wait like vultures for the next oil well to exploit. In traditional societies rites were central to life. Dance was used to build meaning. We are still seeking to understand the world and our bodies are one of the most important catalysers. Walking, running, falling. Actions are movements and our behaviour is a social ritual. Movement requires responsibility and passion.
Ismael Ivo
from the press kit of the 6th International Festival of Contemporary Dance