Premiere 30th January 2020 at House of Dance, Oslo (Norway)
When Monday Came is the second piece in zvc´s ongoing trilogy, which has the global climate changes as the overall turning point.
Trailer by Yaniv Cohen
Photos: Yaniv Cohen
The Element of Fire
What is the human purpose and relevance of fire— of the actual event of burning? What kind of space or situation is a fire plot for the human body?
When Monday came is not only an intellectual endeavour with nature’s rage, but also a deeply existential crisis that we are facing. What do we do now? The warnings have never been more apparent. We do not need more proof that something has gone terribly wrong. While driving through Australia artistic director and choreographer Ina Christel Johannessen asked herself: What happens to people when their environment burns down? What can possibly come out of a burning site? What kind of fundamental change is the destruction caused by fire representing in terms of human conditions? These are some of the questions that she and her dancers and artistic collaborators are investigating in this performance. It is not just a question of the philosophy of the matter but the real conditions – the factual impact of the burning itself — the vision, the sound, the smell. And, of course there is the body. But the body plays both an active and passive part. It can of course die but also escape, survive, make a difference, and even change the order of things within the course of events.
So, what are the possible human consequences of an encompassing fire? Merely destruction? A new possibility? Change? When there is a fire, there are ashes. In some cultures, ashes is a source of cleansing – a connection to another life. It represents nature in a changing situation. The challenge is to bring this fundamental condition of both destruction and new life into an aesthetic frame. And who or what is Monday? Just another day? The name of a child hence the future? But how can the devastating results of a fire be so tragic and beautiful at the same time? Part of the story is that tragedy is not the accident that occurs but the recognition that it is man’s destiny. An act of hubris will be punished tragically. That is also the beauty of it all – we are talking about the art of performance since before the Greek mythologies.
When Monday came demonstrates how dance is brilliantly created for the sense of presence of something deadly important and with a shared significance between the dancers and the audience.
In her last productions the fundamental questions of the future of human existence and its natural surroundings have been the topic of the choreographic work of Ina Christel Johannessen pushed to the edge of aesthetic experience.
CREDITS:
Choreography Ina Christel Johannessen
Composer Tommy Jansen
Scenography Åsmund Færavaag
Dancers Ole Willy Falkhaugen, Hugo Marmelada, Dorotea Saykaly, Camilla Spidsøe,
Ole Kristian Tangen, Line Tørmoen.
Musician Tommy Jansen
Costumes Ina Christel Johannessen
Light Design Daniel Kolstad Gimle
Sound Morten Pettersen
Executive producer Kirsti Ulvestad
Produced by Zero Visibility Corp
Co-produced by Dansens Hus, Oslo, La Briqueterie, Paris, Fabbrica Europa, Florence.
Zero Visibility Corp. is supported by Arts Council Norway