Again and again, 14 dancers cross the stage, tirelessly, uninterruptedly, endlessly. Crawling like primordial animals at the beginning, they slowly rise, they walk, run, fall, stand up, run, stop and start all over again, caught in the cycle of things and in the longing to move on.

The dance piece “Sideways rain” is a physical metaphor of life. On the way through a universe of light and spherical music, complex questions about human development arise. The repetition of patterns and the constant acceleration of the rhythm create a choreography full of visual power and strong pull. The physical phenomenon of rain from the side in nature gives as a synonym a forward flowing, uncontrollable and also mysterious energy.

Guilherme Botelho, born in São Paulo / Brazil in 1962, began his dance training at the age of 16 and was engaged at the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève in 1982. In 1987 he created his first own choreography. He founded the company Alias in 1994, for which he has developed about 30 pieces so far. His latest choreographies include “contre-mondes” (“Counterworlds,” 2017), “Normal.” (2018) and “in C” (2020). His works have received several awards. “Sideways rain” is one of the most exhilarating, hypnotic and mesmerizing choreographies of the last decade and has guested at all major festivals across Europe. The piece was seen at euro-scene Leipzig in 2011 and can now be experienced here once again with a new generation of dancers.