Artists’ residency programme Think Big 2014

Shannon Gillen (DE/USA): EMPTY CHAIR TECHNIQUE

PRESS

“[…] Shannon Gillen had previously only worked with female dancers. So it was an interesting experience for her to have two male dancers in her ‘Think Big’ ensemble. In her work, US choreographer Gillen explores the moments when the individual clashes with social conventions, and the conflicts that arise from them. For […] Gillen, dreams play a major role in this. […]”

Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, 2 September 2014

Robert Przybyl (DE/PL): Skin to Skin/Simple Touch

PRESS

“[…] A woman moves in the foreground, another lies behind her on the floor. Then another comes along, taps the lying woman, and she twists […] upwards in soft movements. Eventually all six women are dancing to Shatner’s speech song. […] Przybyl is primarily concerned here with how individual movements can trigger a chain of reactions. […]”

Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, 2 September 2014

Miquel G. Font (DE/ES): Exodus to Hopeland

PRESS

“[…] Font, who has lived and worked in various countries, presents a choreography about immigration; about the phenomenon of inward departure from one’s homeland and yearning for the country of one’s dreams. This is embedded in a casting show setting. Font has previously shown the piece with a smaller cast, but now, with nine dancers, he has found the ‘perfect constellation’, says the choreographer, who also composed the music for the piece. […]”

Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, 2 September 2014

Project description

Three ambitious choreographers, a top-class nine-person dance ensemble, two rehearsal spaces and about five weeks’ time – these are the ingredients that went into the three new ensemble productions created in the heart of Hanover. It was all made possible by the third edition of the “Think Big” artists’ residency programme, a joint initiative of the Hanover State Opera Ballet and TANZtheater INTERNATIONAL. This programme aims to provide young talents with the right conditions for channelling their energies into developing larger-scale works. This year, a jury made up of Adolphe Binder, artistic director of GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Jörg Mannes, ballet director in Hanover, and festival director Christiane Winter chose Miquel G. Font, Shannon Gillen and Robert Przbyl to take part. These three artists all have previous experience of staging their own productions and stand out for having distinctive choreographic signatures. Their approximately 20-minute choreographies are shown here in succession, ensuring a varied evening of fresh dance.

(Approx. 120 min. incl. 2 intervals)

Watch excerpts from the rehearsals in Hanover at NDR Online

 

cast & credits

EMPTY CHAIR TECHNIQUE

Choreography: Shannon Gillen

Music: Shannon Gillen with songs from Antonio Carlos Jobim and Machinefabriek

Film collage and Text: Shannon Gillen

Skin to Skin / Simple Touch

Choreography: Robert Przybyl

Music: Lenny Kravitz and William Shatner

Exodus to Hopeland

Choreography: Miquel G. Font

Music: Miquel G. Font

Video: Eloi Tomás - Los Especialistas

Dance and artistic collaboration:
Johanna Berger, Austin Fagan, Gabriela Gomez Abaitua, Antonio Izquierdo Martínez, Justyna Kalbarczyk, Beatrix Koller, Chen Pin-Chieh, Sabine Prokop, Asuka Julia Riedl

Production assistant/Dramaturgy: Tilman Richter

Lightdesign: Wilfried Heitmüller

The “Think Big” 2014 residencies in Hanover are funded by the Stiftung Niedersachsen, Stiftung Kulturregion Hannover, Landeshauptstadt Hannover, Kulturbüro and Region Hannover.