Laurent Chétouane: Khaos
An encounter with chaos for dancers and musicians
How can we find a dance technique which frees the dancer from every form, from every momentary restriction and recognisable pattern? This question, which has played a role in several of Laurent Chétouane’s earlier productions, was the focus of renewed intensity in his dance project “Khaos”. For this piece, the choreographer collaborated with five dancers and three musicians. The musical basis were pieces by J.S. Bach, Wolfgang Rihm and John Cage. These segments are especially challenging in that the musicians must start and end the phrases at the same time. Thanks to a cleverly conceived acoustic concept and a specially installed loudspeaker system, instable spaces were created which presented both the performers and audience with “musical chaos”. Chétouane’s artistic experiment is rooted in the idea that chaos represents an inevitable “model for the future”, and that we will be forced to accept the instability and crisis it brings. The goal of the experiment was to make chaos more fruitful so that it could be experienced by artists and viewers in a new and productive manner.
The premiere of the dance piece took place in Berlin with additional performances in Austria, Greece and Poland. The performances have been supplemented by a symposium in Berlin and Athens, an interview series with experts from various disciplines and a “making-of” film, documenting the rehearsal process.
Artistic director: Laurent Chétouane (FR)
Dancers: Kotomi Nishiwaki (JP), Bilal Elhad (MAR),Tilman O'Donnell (US), Mikael Marklund (SE)
Musicians: Mathias Halvorsen (NO, Klavier), Tilman Kanitz (D, Cello), Artiom Shishkov (BLR, Geige)
Choreography: Laurent Chétouane (FR), Kotomi Nishiwaki (JP), Bilal Elhad (MAR), Tilman O'Donnell (US), Mikael Marklund (SE)
Musical Concept: Laurent Chétouane (FR), Mathias Halvorsen (NO), Tilman Kanitz (D), Artiom Shishkov (BLR), Johann Günther
Set & light design: Jan Maertens (BE)
Costume design: Lydia Sonderegger (SUI)
Sound design: Johann Günther
Dramaturge: Marten Weise
Assistant: Sarah Blumenfeld
Production: Christine Kammer, Hendrik Unger
additional venues:
Vienna, Hamburg, Athens (Onassis Culturla Centre, 9 – 11 Dec. 2016) and others