Monumental and minimalist dance by two unique dance personalities in Musis
A program full of monumental and minimalist dance by two unique dance personalities in Musis. Introdans dances the piece Typhoon by the Dutch choreographer Krisztina De Châtel and two choreographies from the focus programme ICOON around the work of the American choreographer Lucinda Childs. This special curated programme can only be seen in Arnhem!
Typhoon is a monumental showdown in minimalist dance. The choreographic urge for order of De Châtel – queen of minimalist dance – is tested in this performance, as it were, in a flying storm. The dancers are ready for battle. De Châtel captivates again and again with her unique, energetic dance full of minimalist and mathematical movements.
The two choreographies from ICOON are by choreographer Lucinda Childs, who, like De Châtel, is the queen of minimalist dance. Childs’ movement idiom is absolutely unique: taking an abstract, almost mathematical approach she uses relatively simple ballet and athletic movements to create amazingly complex masterpieces.
‘Call it danced mathematics, musical transformation or moving shapes – it’s all exciting and lucid. As if Childs was aiming to tame human passions with a set square’ – de Volkskrant about Lucinda Childs
“An impressive production with an almost frightening power.” – NRC about Krisztina de Châtel
“Introdans is committed to cherishing and reviving existing repertoire to prevent dance from becoming disposable art and to ensure that a new generation of audiences can become acquainted with these impressive works. I have always been an admirer of Krisztina de Châtel’s minimalist work. The clarity in structure, the minimal shifts and the battle with the power of the wind machines are enormously fascinating. Introdans is committed to cherishing and reviving existing repertoire to prevent dance from becoming disposable art and to ensure that a new generation of audiences can become acquainted with these impressive works,” says Roel Voorintholt, artistic director of Introdans.
TYPHOON & ICON in Musis can only be seen in Arnhem!
Dates: 15 – 18 May 2025
Location: Musis Arnhem
Typhoon – Krisztina de Châtel
In a windless prologue accompanied by the rippling piano sounds of Simeon ten Holt’s Canto Ostinato, the dancers prepare themselves for what is to come. They hang off balance as if leaning against the wind. Their arms cleave the air. They are ready for battle. Then the growing noise of wind machines drowns out the soft piano sounds. The dancers fill their lungs and proudly fight this (invisible) matter that they make tangible while dancing. The monumental dance performance Typhoon (1986) by choreographer Krisztina de Châtel will be revived in the spring of 2025 and danced by the dancers of Introdans.
For the performance Typhoon, Krisztina de Châtel collaborated with visual artist Peter Vermeulen and composer Simeon ten Holt. The central theme in Peter Vermeulen’s work is the conversion of energy into moving and sound-producing images. For Typhoon he developed the idea of having the dancers enter into a direct confrontation with the incalculable forces of the wind. He installed three wind machines that can vary in strength from a light breeze to a heavy storm. De Châtel then has her dancers enter into direct confrontation with the wind machines designed by Vermeulen.
Petricor uit ICOON – Lucinda Childs
Petricor (‘the scent released when rain falls on dry ground’) is the third work that the ‘queen of minimal dance’ created for Introdans in 2018. Childs was inspired for this creation by the composition of the same name by Ludovico Einaudi, known a.o. for his music for the French film hit Intouchables. The result is a complex but at the same time crystal clear choreography of repetitive, classical dance steps that are placed light as a feather in the space. The ingenious mathematical patterns that Childs creates are also visible in a drawn version on the decor by the French artist Dominique Drillot. Abstract works of art that once again underline the genius of the choreography.
Concerto uit ICOON – Lucinda Childs
An electrifying work that passes by like one whirlwind. This is how Lucinda Child’s Concerto was received at the Dutch premiere in 2007. In this perhaps most ‘balletesque’ choreography by the American ‘queen of minimal dance’, she chases seven dancers across the stage in continuously changing formations to the driving music of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki. With extremely small variations and shifts, Childs creates a kaleidoscopic jewel: very simple at first glance, but oh so refined and masterful.
About Krisztina de Châtel
Choreographer Krisztina de Châtel captivates again and again with her unique, energetic dance full of minimalist and mathematical movements. The successful revivals of Thron (2017) and Pulse (2019) and the monumental Föld (2022) show how her performances always resonate with a new generation of viewers. Her performances revolve around contrasts and confrontations: vulnerable human bodies are confronted with natural elements such as wind, earth and water, or the imposing space of a church building or machine shed. A battle also rages within the body itself: between passion and control, between individual freedom and the anonymity and security of the collective.
About Lucinda Childs
Choreographer Lucinda Childs is the queen of minimalist dance. She will turn 85 in 2025 and Introdans will celebrate with ICON, a tribute to the ‘grand old lady’ of American dance. Childs’ movement language is completely unique: in an abstract, almost mathematical way, she creates the most complex masterpieces with relatively simple ballet and athletic movements. The bond between Childs and Introdans can also be called unique, there is no company in the world that dances so much of her work. Introdans has a rich oeuvre of existing and new work by Lucinda Childs.