SPIELART Festival: BLUE NILE TO THE GALAXY AROUND OLODUMARE

In the organizer's words:

A dark planet floats above the stage, illuminated by a white light that seems to come from an alien sun. Under the stars, five dancers improvise to the music of jazz icons Alice Coltrane and Bheki Mseleku. The title itself refers to two central pieces by Coltrane: BLUE NILE and GALAXY AROUND OLODUMARE - soundscapes that combine cosmology and African spirituality and mark the resistance against the dominance of Western forms of expression in art. The dancers perform Pantsula - a style that originated in the townships of South Africa during apartheid and is characterized by virtuosity, rapid footwork and influences from jive. South Africa and the USA, past, present and future come together. Improvisation is the central element: in the moment of forward movement, it demands a look back. As in the cosmic structure, something new emerges from the essence of the past.