The Forsythe Company

An awareness of life’s fragility occasionally hits us like a meteorite from outer space, or like one of the black balls that lie scattered across the open stage. Questions of continuity, decay and finiteness, in the form of “space junk” or waste products from everyday life, are posed on all levels. William Forsythe’s “I don’t believe in outer space” is a very personal piece that sees the core of our existence through the lens of the choreographer, using pop songs as a starting point that Forsythe transforms into a dense structure of text, music and movement. With 18 dancers and a soundtrack by the composer Thom Willems – a long-term companion of the Forsythe Company – this work reflects the power and mortality of the world by borrowing from the signs and language of the pop world. Humorous and tragic in equal measure, “I don’t believe in outer space” is “a work that celebrates existence while embracing its uncertainties – as we should do too” in the company’s words. In the end, a melancholic declaration of love for the small, beautiful things in life remains – they will survive.

A work by William Forsythe
and the Forsythe Company
Stage William Forsythe
Music Thom Willems
Sound design Niels Lanz
Graphics Dietrich Krüger
Costumes Dorothee Merg
Light Tanja Rühl, Ulf Naumann
Dramaturgical assistance Dr. Freya Vass-Rhee

With:
Yoko Ando, Cyril Baldy, Esther Balfe*, Dana Caspersen, Katja Cheraneva, Frances Chiaverini, Brigel Gjoka, Amancio Gonzalez, Josh Johnson, David Kern, Fabrice Mazliah, Roberta Mosca, Tilman O’Donnell*, Inma Rubio*, Jone San Martin, Yasutake Shimaji, Ildikó Tóth, Elizabeth Waterhouse*, Riley Watts, Ander Zabala
*guest