The Cloud
Arkadi Zaides, born in Belarus, was six when nuclear reactor number 4 at Chernobyl exploded in 1986. The radioactive cloud that has drifted over large parts of Europe since then instils fear. The invisible enemy is not only radioactivity: the Soviet Union also obscured information around the disaster. Thus, to this day this historic event remains shrouded in mystery.
In The Cloud, Zaides connects this nuclear catastrophe and another ‘cloud’ – that is, ‘The Cloud’ of Internet data that seems to float above our heads. This cloud also spreads (dis)information: the way facts, info, and propaganda are disseminated are being debated today more than ever.
In his performance, Zaides uses Artificial Intelligence in real time. Before our eyes a stream of text, images, and sound related to the events at Chernobyl appears, live. The performers go to work with this ‘output’, taking the form of the 'liquidators' – the crew and military personnel who entered the Chernobyl site. Thousands lost their lives after the investigation. Their suits – especially the gas masks – evoke the idea of contamination. They continue to haunt Zaides' imagination. In The Cloud, he confronts himself with his deepest fears.
• Arkadi Zaides is a choreographer and visual artist. He is currently working on a PhD in Antwerp and Ghent. He is part of the CORPoREAL research group and S:PAM, and his performances and installations have been presented in theatre festivals, museums, and galleries across Europe, North and South America, and Asia. He presented NECROPOLIS at Kaaitheater in 2022.
choreography and direction Arkadi Zaides | dramaturgy Igor Dobricic | artificial intelligence and sound design Axel Chemla--Romeu-Santos | cinematography Artur Castro Freire | performance Arkadi Zaides, Misha Demoustier/ Roger Sala Reyner, Axel Chemla--RomeuSantos | light design Jan Mergaert | technical management Etienne Exbrayat | administration and production Simge Gücük / Institut des Croisements | executive production laGeste | co-producers Montpellier Danse (FR), Maison de la Danse, Lyon - Pôle européen de création (FR), Charleroi Danse (FR), Mousonturm (DE) | Residency support : CAMPO (BE), PACT Zollverein (DE), Orbita | Spellbound National Production Center for Dance (IT), Dialoghi / Villa Manin, CSS Teatro stabile di innovazione del Friuli Venezia Giulia (IT) | initial research conducted within the framework of SoundImageCulture (SIC) supported by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and VAF - Vlaams Audiovisueel Fund | with the support of TMU New York; The Ministry of Culture of France / Directorate General for Artistic Creation; City of Ghent, Flemish Authorities and the Belgian Federal Government's Tax Shelter measure through Flanders Tax Shelter; A.R.T. research and residency program by La Comédie de Valence, CDN (FR) Arkadi Zaides / Institut des Croisements is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Communication / DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | international distribution Something Great
This performance deals with homelessness.