Dance | Guest Performance

Sacre

an evening in three parts

L’Après-midi d’un faune
Scène d’Amour
Sacre

Sasha Waltz & Guests

World premiere danced by Sasha Waltz & Guests 13 September 2013, Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels

A group of dancers runs around on a gravel-covered stage.

© Sasha Waltz & Guests

Considered one of the key works of modernism, it is a hundred years after the genesis of Igor Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps” that Sasha Waltz takes on the Mariinsky Theatre’s offer to engage with this extraordinary piece of musical and dance history. Its title translates to “The Rite of Spring”.

The strikingly archaic, tension-charged and angular composition is characterized by a strongly emphasized rhythm, precipitous drops and a layering of constantly repeating musical motives. Its many almost noise-like dissonances and expressionist sonic impressions have made the work one of the most famous pieces of music of the modern avant-garde. Earlier large-format pieces of Sasha Waltz’, amongst others „Na Zemlje“ (1998) or „Continu“ (2010), have already showcased elements of her research into rites and group dynamics. With her choreography of Igor Stravinsky’s „Le Sacre du Printemps“, she dedicates an entire piece to these themes. For this evening, it is accompanied by the „Scène d'Amour“ from „Roméo et Juliette“ by Hector Berlioz and her choreography „L’Après-midi d’un faune“ to the music of Claude Debussy.

In 2023, Sasha Waltz & Guests celebrated its 30th anniversary: the company was founded by Sasha Waltz and Jochen Sandig in Berlin in 1993. To date, numerous artists and ensembles from the fields of architecture, visual arts, choreography, film, design, literature, fashion and music from more than 60 countries have collaborated as “Guests” on over 100 productions, “Dialoge” projects and films. Sasha Waltz & Guests works in a constantly evolving international and national network of production and guest performance partners, and since its foundation in 1993 has performed at over 300 venues and festivals in more than 50 countries and 180 cities. Today, the company is showing its current repertoire of 12 active pieces in about 80 performances each year. In Berlin, the company cooperates with a wide range of municipal theatres, opera houses and museums and has contributed to establishing new cultural institutions, such as Sophiensæle (1996), St. Elisabeth-Kirche (2004) and Radialsystem (2006). In 2013, the company was named “European Cultural Ambassador” by the European Union. In 2014, Sasha Waltz & Guests was awarded the “Tabori Ehrenpreis” by the Fonds Darstellende Künste. Apart from Berlin stagings, national and international guest performances and the continual work on the repertoire, Sasha Waltz & Guests has been increasingly committed to educational and social projects. In 2007, the “Kindertanzcompany” (Children’s Dance Company) was founded and since 2016 the interdisciplinary and open exchange platform titled “ZUHÖREN” has served as a “third space for art and politics”. Alongside these initiatives, the company continues to propose diverse offers in the field of knowledge transfer. With the work “In C”, based on Terry Riley’s open composition of the same name, a system with an internationally growing community has been developing since spring 2021: the choreographic material was recorded in video tutorials to enable the easy transfer of knowledge. As a result, participatory, diverse, international and sustainable “In C” projects, workshop formats and ever-new structures have emerged worldwide. Sasha Waltz & Guests is funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Community.

Programme

L’Après-midi d’un faune

Sasha WaltzDirection, Choreography
Claude Debussy – Composition
N.N. – Stage Design and Costumes
Martin Hauk – Lighting Design

Scène d’Amour

Sasha WaltzDirection, Choreography
Hector BerliozComposition
Bernd SkodzigCostumes
David Finn – Lighting Design

Sacre

Sasha WaltzDirection, Choreography
Igor Stravinsky – Composition
Pia Maier Schriever, Sasha Waltz – Stage Design
Bernd SkodzigCostumes
Thilo Reuther – Lighting Design

Cast

Sasha Waltz & GuestsDance

A group of dancers kneel on a stage. A couple is lying on the floor in front of them.

Sacre

© Bernd Uhlig

A group of dancers roll around on a gravel-covered stage. One couple carries another couple on their shoulders.

Sacre

© Bernd Uhlig

A group of dancers stretch their hands towards a rope hanging above them.

Sacre

© Bernd Uhlig

“L’Après-midi d'un faune” is a production by Sasha Waltz & Guests in co-production with the Staatsoper im Schiller Theater.

“Scène d'Amour” is an excerpt from “Roméo et Juliette”, a production of the Ballet of the Opéra national de Paris.

“Sacre” is a production by Sasha Waltz & Guests in co-production with the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg and the Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie, Brussels.

Sasha Waltz & Guests is funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Community.
www.sashawaltz.de