The Whole and its Parts

In the organizer's words:

Dance world premiere by Maria Campos and Guy Nader

The Japanese word 開花 (kaika), together with the term blooming, is the theme of TANZ_KASSEL's season. Kaika is made up of the characters 開 (opening, unfolding) and 花 (flower) and means flower unfolding or blooming. It describes the moment when a flower opens its bud and blossoms in full splendor. This meaning can be understood in both a literal and metaphorical sense - as a symbol of growth, unfolding and the beginning of something new. It becomes a metaphor for life that blossoms in the midst of death and decay, but can never last. A brief moment of upliftment that is inevitably swallowed up by darkness.

Inspired by the idea of construction and deconstruction as well as the cyclical processes of nature, choreographers Maria Campos and Guy Nader have turned to the laws of physics to develop a detailed time-space composition for TANZ_KASSEL that results in nothing more or less than the suspension of time. An ode to life and a look at its fragility. This work is based on rigorous movement research and involves specific physical movement sequences in relation to weight, gravity, time, space and group dynamics. The result is an ongoing journey that illustrates the interweaving, emergence and dynamic interplay between individual elements and the larger systems they form.

Guy Nader and Maria Campos are world-renowned and sought-after choreographers who explore the boundaries of the body with virtuosity, establishing new forms of expression in contemporary dance and pushing the physical limits of movement to the extreme. Lebanese-born Guy Nader and Spanish-born Maria Campos have been working together since 2006 at the interface of contemporary dance, contact improvisation, acrobatics and martial arts. They run a dance company based in Barcelona: GN I MC. They have presented numerous works internationally in various festivals and venues. Wherever they perform, they create storms of enthusiasm.