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PRESS RELEASE: SW - Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker/ Rosas


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Rosas - En Atendant / Cesena

UK PREMIERE

Sadler’s Wells

En Atendant: Monday 5 & Tuesday 6 November 2012

Cesena: Thursday 8 & Friday 9 November 2012

Performances at 7.30pm

Tickets: £12 - £27

Ticket Office: 0844 412 4300 www.sadlerswells.com

 

 

“Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has helped define contemporary dance as we know it" The Independent

 

World renowned choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and her company Rosas return to Sadler’s Wells with the UK premiere of two of their most recent works, En Atendant and Cesena.

 

The two works were conceived as a diptych, inspired by specific times of day, presented over two summers in Avignon. En Atendant captures the merging of twilight into night, while Cesena is a celebration of the coming of the dawn. The works also take inspiration from the Medieval heritage of the city in which they were created, loosely chronicling the history of the Avignon Papacy – a period in the 14th Century following a religious conflict between France and Rome, during which seven Popes resided in Avignon, modern day France.

 

Premiered in the beautiful, Medieval surroundings of the Eglise des Célestins at the 2010 Avignon Festival and performed by eight dancers, three musicians and one singer, En Atendant is part of De Keersmaeker’s continuing exploration of how music and dance can combine and interact. Set to the Ars Subtilior, a complex form of 14th century Medieval polyphony featuring dissonance and contrast, which is unique to Avignon, the title of the work, En Atendant, is a reference to a ballad by the Medieval Occitan poet Philippus of Caserta (1370-1420). The Ars Subtilior was developed in the aftermath of the religious conflict in Europe which lead to the installation of the Popes in Avignon in the 14th Century. De Keersmaeker makes reference to the music’s origins by using it to reflect the chaos of our own time. This is also echoed by the production’s lighting, conceived by Michel François, which mimics the transition from the fading light of twilight into the darkness of night.

 

Cesena, conceived as a companion piece to En Atendant and premiered in the monumental surroundings of the Cour d'Honneur du palais des Papes at the 2011 Avignon Festival, is a brighter and more optimistic piece than its sister work. This is reflected in the production’s lighting which mimics the rising of the sun at dawn. The title of the piece again makes reference to the religious conflicts of Medieval Europe: Cesena is the name of the historic Northern Italian city where Breton mercenaries fought in service of the Papal state in 1377. The company worked closely with Björn Schmelzer and his Graindelavoix Music Ensemble during the creation of the piece. The stage, with set by Ann Veronica Janssen, is shared by 19 dancers and singers all of whom both sing and dance, exploring the limits of their abilities.

 

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker is one of the most influential choreographers of the last 30 years. 1982 saw the premiere of Fase, four movements to the music of Steve Reich, one of the most iconic pieces of choreography of the era, which most recently was one of the inaugural works staged at the Tate Modern’s Tanks Gallery in London. In 1983 De Keersmaeker set up her Rosas company at the same time as creating the work Rosas danst Rosas. She established the P.A.R.T.S. dance school in association with La Monnaie in 1995. Other major works include Stella (1989), Mikrokosmos (1997) and Drumming (1998) for which De Keersmaeker received numerous awards. In 2011 Sadler’s Wells hosted a retrospective of Rosas’ Early Works, which saw De Keersmaeker’s Fase, Rosas danst Rosas, Elena’s Aria and Bartok/Mikrokosmos play the main stage. The American Dance Festival awarded Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker the 2011 Lifetime achievement award.

 

A pre-show director’s conversation with Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker will be held on Tuesday 6 November 2012. The talk will take place from 6:00pm until 6:45pm. Tickets are £4, £3 concessions.

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