tanzmainz Comes to Danse Danse This Month

 tanzmainz, the German Staatstheater Mainz's contemporary dance company, makes its Montreal debut at Danse Danse with Soul Chain, a new work by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, also presented here for the first time. Presented January 23 to 27, 2024 at Théâtre Maisonneuve of the Place des Arts.

Winner of Germany's prestigious Der Faust award, Soul Chain explores love and its accompanying emotions, such as desire and loneliness, as vital forces that can sometimes feel trapped inside the body. Through sensual, energetic choreography, existing halfway between the ballet and the nightclub, the work allows this inner world to break free.

Set to the hypnotic techno beats of DJ Ori Lichtik, a chorus of 17 dancers on demi-pointe pulsate in perfect synergy, combining brisk, energetic, and animalistic gestures with stylized struts and swivels one would see on the catwalks that Sharon Eyal herself is well acquainted with. This parade of minute yet complex variations culminates in a crescendo that bears visceral witness to the dancers' physical endurance and, far from romantic clichés, brings to life the vital impulse that seizes the body once the spark is lit.

Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar are continually exploring love and desire in their work, which is celebrated worldwide for its explosive, frenetic choreography. Both accomplished multidisciplinary artists and great admirers of techno and the nightclub scene, music is an integral part of Eyal and Behar's work. For Soul Chain, as for all their shows, drummer, DJ-composer and trusted collaborator Ori Lichtik provides the soundtrack.

Thus, this latest collaboration represents the culmination of a well-honed and ever-expanding creative process, resulting in their most striking work to date and their most demanding choreography, a challenge that tanzmainz's dancers meet with great virtuosity.

About Sharon Eyal

Sharon Eyal is an artist based in France. She was Associate Artistic Director of the renowned Batsheva Dance Company from 2003 to 2004, and the company's resident choreographer from 2005 to 2012, during which time she created 16 new works.

Since, 2009 she has created over 30 new works for dance companies around the world such as Bedroom Folk, Salt Womb, Feelings and Sara for Nederlands Dans Theater, Half-Life for the Royal Swedish Ballet, Untitled Black and Autodance for GoteborgsOperans Danskompan, Killer Pig and Corps de Walk for Carte Blanche Dance of Norway, Too Beaucoup for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Plafona for Tanzcompagnie Oldenburg, and more.

Eyal has also collaborated with major names outside of the world of dance, such as Dior and stylist Maria Grazia Chiur for their Spring Summer 2019 Fashion show, and The National and Mike Mills on music videos for their songs "Hairpin Turns" and "Hey Rosie," as well as in a live performance for their international tour's opening show at L'Olympia in Paris.

In 2005 Eyal started to collaborate with Gai Behar with whom she founded the dance company L-E-V. Since then, the company has had more than 200 performances in some of the world's most prestigious venues such as The Joyce Theatre in New York, Jacob's Pillow in Becket, Massachusetts, Sadler's Wells in London, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Montpellier Dance Festival, and the Banff Centre for Arts.

About Gai Behar

Based in France, Gai Behar is considered an influential figure in the world of live music and art and the nightlife scene. As an event organizer for numerous nightclubs and curator of multidisciplinary art events, he specializes in experimental combinations of performance art, installation, and video with dance.

He also played in Ori Lichtik's Anna Frank 14 , a techno-acoustic group based mainly on minimalistic rhythms and melodies. Together with Sharon Eyal, he is part of an innovative contemporary dance duo that created, among other works, Sara (2013), Bedroom Folk (2015), Salt Womb (2016), and FEELINGS (2016) for Nederlands Dans Theater. In 2013, the duo formed their own dance company L-E-V.

About tanzmainz

tanzmainz is the Staatstheater Mainz’s contemporary dance ensemble, directed by Honne Dohrmann since 2014. 21 dancers work side by side with a diverse production team to create works that strive to reflect complex social issues.

Its ensemble consists of extensively trained artistic personalities who are always eager to work closely with its renowned guest choreographers. It is first and foremost a space for creation, i.e., all works that are presented there have been created by the tanzmainz team in Mainz, Germany in collaboration with its many guests.

Tanzmainz bridges the gap between state theater and the independent scene, constantly striving to expand its repertoire through innovative choreographic languages and forms of production. By opening itself to other disciplines, genres, and performance venues, both inside and outside the theater, it strengthens the contemporary profile of its ensemble.

Photo Credit: Andreas Hetter

 

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