In the Shadows

Two-part ballet evening with choreographies by Douglas Lee and Inma López (premiere)

The new ballet evening IM VEBORGENEN is about how parts come together to form a whole. The program itself consists of two parts that complement each other: both choreographies, written in different styles, explore individuality and personality, as well as what we see in each other and what we consciously try not to show. The magic of the not-fully-visible or only partially-visible is explored by the internationally active choreographer Douglas Lee in the first part of the evening. The new creation FADE-OUTS, which he conceived together with composer Nicolas Sávva for Cottbus, uses theater as a metaphor. The space is dominated by a red area that evokes the image of a theater curtain. What would be visible if one were to leave the frontal audience perspective? Other viewpoints reveal only fragments of the whole, parts of people and bodies. Sometimes the figures completely step out of the spotlight into the darkness, and the individual fades away, "fades out." Is this our togetherness? Is everything part of a grand performance? And is someone pulling the strings in this play from the background?

Co-ballet director Inma López also addresses the relationship of parts to a whole. She was inspired by the Japanese practice of Kintsugi and explores the value of breaks in GOLDENE WUNDEN. The Japanese practice painstakingly and elaborately reassembles broken pieces without hiding the breakpoints. They remain visible as golden veins and make the unique item truly valuable. "We live in a tyranny of perfection," says the choreographer, "but it is the cracks that determine the value of a broken piece, that tell its very own story. So too are the scars that define me and form my most resilient part, my golden wounds. I am and we are the children of the golden cracks."