Mer-
Celebrating life with death
In their new creation, Claire Croizé and Etienne Guilloteau reach towards the horizon. Five dancers and five musicians perform a polyphonic piece of singing and dance, composed around 15th- and 16th-century polyphonies about death, sadness and pain. Nevertheless, there is also space for lightness and joy. Indeed, in addition to being unknown and mysterious, dying is a banal and ‘everyday’ event. From the moment you are born, death is constantly approaching: life in freefall. By acknowledging death, Croizé and Guilloteau aim to celebrate life to the full.
• The transience of our existence is a vital element in the work of Claire Croizé and Etienne Guilloteau. They have performed both individually and as a pair at the Kaaitheater before, with productions like Synopsis of a Battle (2013), Feu (2015) and EVOL (2016). For Mer-, they are collaborating with the Pluto ensemble conducted by Marnix De Cat, which specializes in Renaissance and Baroque polyphony, but also connects it with new music.
concept & choreography Claire Croizé, Etienne Guilloteau | danced by Claire Godsmark, Emmi Väisänen, Young Won Song, Mikko Hyvönen, Tarek Halaby | music Pluto-ensemble (Marnix De Cat) | singers Marnix De Cat, Kristen Witmer, Adriaan De Koster, Tore Denys, Harry van der Kamp | musical dramaturgy Marnix de Cat, Claire Croizé, Etienne Guilloteau | light design Hans Meijer | costume design Anne-Catherine Kunz | production ECCE | co-production Concertgebouw Brugge | in collaboration with STUK-House for Dance, Image & Sound, wpZimmer, workspacebrussels | support Provincie West-Vlaanderen
In onze Westerse cultuur wordt dood en sterven doorgaans bekeken vanuit angst en ontkenning. Tijdens Our Daily Death keren we de medaille om. We nodigen kunstenaars en wetenschappers uit die de dood beschouwen als deel van ons dagelijkse leven. Hoe kunnen we de symbolen en rituelen verbonden aan rouw herdenken, zodat ze meer in het leven staan? Zodat in de toekomst deze thema’s niet enkel aan bod komen in de periode in aanloop naar Allerheiligen en Allerzielen, maar elke dag?