Arena international theatre festival 2007

Erlangen (Nuremberg) Germany

by Siri Hornschild

The In_Between Butoh Dance Company creates an impressive performance inspired by Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Praise of Folly:

“When the soul, having broken its fetters,it endeavors to get loose and assays, as it were, a flight out of that prison that holds it in, they call it madness. When the mind strives to rove from its body and does not rightly use its own organs, without doubt you may say ’tis downright madness and not be mistake.”

In the non-verbal performance Something in Between, the senses become superior to the mind. The audience has to walk the tightrope between reality and madness. The performers will evoke the spectators’ sensitivity for the individual atmosphere of the show – which is, due to its improvisational character, unique in each performance.

In a flood of senses, the audience is confronted with its deepest fears, emotions and obsessions. In Something In Between you cannot just sit and watch – you will become a part of the performance, a part of the atmospher.

Butoh Dance originated from Japanese free dance of the 1960s and literally means dance of darkness. It refers much to meditation, martial arts training and to conventional dance as well. It gains its power from the artists’ individual way of dancing, influenced by his mental and physical preconditions. It absorbs the energy of the inner state of the dancer, the environment, the history of the venue and pours it out all over the audience.

This is truly what ARENA is about: unconventional, experimental, controversial and international. The In_Between Butoh Dance Company, with performers from Switzerland, Italy and France brings the high art of Butoh Dance to Erlangen.

The In_Between Butoh Dance Company also offers a workshop on Saturday 30th of June at 10 o’clock in the Festivalcafe.

Participants:
Frank Heierli
Flavia Ghisalberti
Yann van Steenbrugghe
Ezio Tangini

Approximate Time: Ca. 1h

Group: In_Between Butoh Dance Company

Venue: the Cellar under the Altstädter Church-place

Performances:
29th of June, 8:30 pm
30th of June, 6:00 pm