Donnerstag, 28.03.2024 10:50 Uhr

Cultures, colors, sounds and new impressions

Verantwortlicher Autor: Nadejda Komendantova Various locations in Vienna, 09.06.2022, 11:27 Uhr
Nachricht/Bericht: +++ Kunst, Kultur und Musik +++ Bericht 9254x gelesen

Various locations in Vienna [ENA] The Wiener FestWochen festival takes place every year in Vienna. This year was not an exception. The festival started in May and is going further. The festival takes place in various locations of Vienna such as Odeon theater, Volkstheater, Museumsquartier, brut nordwest and many other places and locations. This year, after the covid 19 pandemic, it is even more intensive and impressive.

The visitors of the festival had a choice to enjoy elements of various cultures and countries like Brazil and Morocco through performances which were bringing them into fascinating travels, enjoy spirit of French philosophers and surrealists or British feminists’ authors, experience stunning stage pictures and waterfalls of colors or wondering about classical famous works in new modern life interpretations.

Encantado of Lia Rodrigues performed in the Odeon theater was a real cascade of color. Lia Rodrigues who is one of the most known choreographers of South America and Companhia de Danças brought colorful atmosphere of Brazil and brought the spectators to the exotic journey through colors, movements, and music. The full of joy performance appeared during the pandemic times and was developed in one of the favelas of Brazil which was not only places someone has a certain image off but which are also places full of life and colors with intensive social interactions. The Favela de Maré where Lia grounded her dance centre is such a place.

At the side of the performance Lia was talking about how this performance was developed in times full of fear and uncertainty and how various parts of the performance appeared. For example, one part of developed during the time when there were no covid risk mitigation measures, and the dancers are performing each at the distance to each other. At the same time other parts appeared when there was more certainty which allowed for more interaction between dancers.

Another dance performance was shown in New Creation developed by another Brazilian artist and choreographer Bruno Beltrão and his Grupo de Rua and performed in Museumsquartier. The works of Bruno Beltrão are focused around social conflicts and social divide as well as solidarity. The performance includes Hip-Hop, acrobatic Battel-Feeling and B-Boying elements and is picturing the street scenes. Through his abstract theater, innovative dancing techniques and urban sounds such as sounds of construction sites thematizes Bruno Beltrão the current political situation in Brazil and the questions of inclusions and exclusions from political decision making processes.

Éléphant was another dance performance shown in Odeon theater. It was developed by Bouchra Ouizguen who is pioneering trailblazer of Moroccan contemporary dance. The four artists of the Compagnie O are sharing with spectators the wealth of experience, traditional singing techniques, and the popular repertoire of the Marrakesh region. The intensity of their voices is really stunning. The performance is balancing between the questions of archaic rituals and modern life.

The performance INFINI 1-18 performed in Volkstheater is another feast of colors but performed in a different manner. The French term “infini” in the context of this performance can be interpreted as painted stage backdrops that unfold their full effect from a central perspective, suggesting an endless landscape or an endless space. Thanks to the technical support and innovative stage techniques during the performance several scenes are created which go far beyond imagination and traditional stage architecture while giving place for further imagination and fantastic pictures which are endless.

That is why the performance is called Infini. It was created by the Brussels-based artist and stage designer Jozef Wouters. The theater machine is running for three and a half hours while showing one stunning landscape after another. The main focus is on the stage landscapes in combination with written and spoken words and music but without any artists on the stage. The performance takes spectators in almost a meditative travel.

The Ring der Niebelungen performed in Museumsquartier is an innovative performance by Necati Öziri and Christopher Rüping which has little remaining from original Wagner Ring and this was by intent. The protagonists of the Ring such as Valkyrie or Wotan are taken into the context of the modern life with the focus on currently existing vulnerabilities and disparities between various people. The performance still contains the spirit of the Ring which was developed based on the model of the ancient Greece dramas with the struggles of gods, heroes and several mythical creatures over the eponymous magic ring that grants domination over the entire world.

And this struggle shows the relativity of the notion of “good” and “evil” especially strongly on one of the last scenes about the bird and the dragon. The small cheeky bird picked the dragon whom she perceived as ugly into the place between the eyes where the pain might be the strongest. However, the dragon did not become angry or aggressive, he just asked what she wants and why she did it. Soon the bird understood that the dragon might be her friend and was singing him into the ear. Suddenly a hero appeared with a certain intention to kill the dragon. And it was not so much about his understanding of the evil of the dragon, but it was very much about his image of himself.

He gloriously puts the knife into the middle of the heart of the dragon, but dragon did not defend himself and while dying the bird was singing into his ear to ease his suffering. After this action the hero himself started to turn into dragon and then he understood that the dragon whom he killed was a hero himself a while ago and that he killed the previous dragon and that it was an eternal circle where it was not clear who was the hero and who was the dragon. And the punishment was killing was eternal loneliness until the next hero would come to end it.

L’Aventure invisible performed in brit nordwest is a very poetic minimalistic performance in the best traditions of French philosophers which took place in brut nordwest. The artist Sarah Pucill and the director and film-maker Marcus Lindeen focused this performance on three remarkable personalities: French Surrealist artist Claude Cahun, Jérôme Hamon, the first person to undergo two face transplant operations due to a hereditary disease; and the neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor, who was compelled to reinvent herself after a stroke. The stories of these three persons collected through interviews and being told by three artists reveal the questions of own identity, transition and new beginning while removing existing faces and creating new.

For example, Claude Cahun was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor and writer who was dealing extensively with questions of feminine and masculine beginnings in own personality. She fascinated several artists such as André Breton who called her "one of the most curious spirits of our time." Her works were shown by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 1994. David Bowie created a multi-media exhibition of Cahun's work in the gardens of the General Theological Seminary in New York in 2007. Bowie called Cahun “a cross-dressing Man Ray with surrealist tendencies “.

Another work namely of Kate McIntosh titled To Speak Light Pours Out performed in brut nordwest is also dealing with the questions of identity and social conflicts. Four performers followed by beats of drums are interpreting texts of various feminist authors and elaborate a diversity of forms of existence vibrating with a lust for life. The Wiener FestWochen Festival is going further and the visitors will have a chance to enjoy several other fascinating performances.

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