Dance play

Four dancers, two women and two men, move slowly around each other and with each other. The movements are as clear as crystal, a geometry of the body. Constantly changing new formations and structures develop in technically precise succession. The dance is abstract and relentless, like a current, like a force field.

»Searching for traces« – After thirty years, the dance piece »Empty moves« picks up the unshakable pugnaciousness of John Cage (1912-92), one of the most important composers of the 20th century. It is based upon a reading by Cage which caused tumultuous reactions in the audience on 02.12.1977 in Teatro Lirico in Milan. Cage alienated texts by the US author and philosopher Henry David Thoreau so strongly with phrasing and meditative severity that the impression of estrangement and destruction was given. The form was more important than the content and meaning.

Angelin Preljocaj, born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie near Paris as the son of Albanian parents, completed an education in classical and modern dance. He founded his own company, Ballet Preljocaj, in 1984 which has been based in Aix-en-Provence since 1996. Preljocaj continuously works for the largest opera houses in Europe, including those in Paris, Lyon and Berlin, amongst others. He has been a guest of euro-scene Leipzig with »Helikopter« (»Helicopter«) & »MC 14/22 (Ceci est mon corps)« (»MC 14/22 (This is my body)«) in 2001 and with »Annonciation« (»Annunciation«) & »N« in 2005.

»In his ballet ›Empty moves‹, Angelin Preljocaj, the most booked choreographer in France and beyond, presents a sensational insight into his passion for the pure strangeness of body movements. The dancers of Ballet Preljocaj explain nothing and tell no stories on the empty stage; they simply express their being in an impressive manner, demonstrating a presence in the space while creating shadows, lines and circumstances« (Le Figaro, Paris, 06.04.2006).