SH-BOOM! – Sol León and Paul Lightfoot
SH-BOOM! (1994) is one of the earliest works in the oeuvre of Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, who were associated with Nederlands Dans Theater for many years. They drew inspiration from the satirical black and white drawings of the Spanish painter Francisco de Goya. And just as they would later do so powerfully and incisively in their subsequent work, they already succeed in this gem in masterfully combining the dark sides of life irony with its lighter sides humour. Set to popular songs from the 1930s and 1940s, SH-BOOM! takes you into a theatrical hall of mirrors, where women dance in flowing dresses and the men stand quite literally in their underwear.

Floating Flowers – Po-Cheng Tsai
Floating Flowers is inspired by a traditional Taiwanese ceremony during the Ghost Festival, in which floating lanterns are placed on the water to honour deities, ward off misfortune and make wishes. For Po-Cheng Tsai, this was a ritual he performed as a child together with his father. After his father’s death, he lost the meaning of the ritual, and that very loss led him to create Floating Flowers: a tribute to his father and a way of letting go of old memories. The dancers move like lanterns drifting across the water, wrapped in light, transparent fabrics. The choreography feels optimistic and fresh, with a touch of humour.

Promenade – Robert Battle
A dynamic, playful satire on social norms and values. That is how you might describe Robert Battle’s Promenade. Set to a deconstructed tango, lyrical one moment and rhythmically fierce and commanding the next, the American choreographer presents a formal social dance performed in folk dance like patterns. But beneath the surface something is brewing. Gradually, less civilised, animal like accents creep into the controlled partner dance: dancers lick themselves, peck with their heads like chickens, stomp on the floor. True to Battle’s style, the energy bursts off the stage. The New York Times aptly called Promenade a “high-energy workout”.