You’ve seen Sasha Waltz ’s work all over the city, from Sophiensaele to Berliner Festspiele. Now, the godmother of the Berlin dance scene presents her newest Creation, 12 years in the making.
Waltz’s name pops up so much that it’s easy to forget that Creation will actually be her first dance premiere here since 2005. The basic form – foregrounding the physicality of the dancers’ bodies – bears more than a striking resemblance to Körper, which Waltz developed years ago and has been enjoying sold-out revival performances these past two seasons. But Creation also brings into the fold the wearable sculptures of fashion designer Iris van Herpen (though the dancers are clad mainly in nude underwear), strong lighting from Urs Schönebaum, and ethnographic recorded sound from the Soundwalk Collective. In what direction will Waltz bring her future work? There’s a lot riding on this 80 minutes of physical dance theatre.
In other Waltz news, her coming co-directorship with the Berliner Staatsballett is a relatively provocative one. The ballet corps openly protested the announcement last year (“this is like replacing a tennis trainer with a soccer coach”). Many purists seem to agree that ballet should be held separate from contemporary forms, and the Staatsballett has heard the boos: they recently announced that starting in 2018, the company will produce half original, contemporary works and half classics from the ballet repertoire. Can a classical ballet company share the repertoire with new commissions? Ever-collaborative Waltz, with a strong track record of founding and building cultural institutions in Berlin, would be the person to make it happen. Let’s see.
Creation, Jun 9-11, 16-18, 20:00 | Radialsystem V
