HARBOR ME / WHIM / AZUL

»Water« in this three-part performance has the upper hand: be it as part of a safe haven/harbor or as an element that in more than 50 shades of blue can be represented — with the choreographies of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Alexander Ekman and Jorge Pérez Martínez in one performance come three works of the most sought-after choreographers in the world to Bonn and they are moving. The element »water« in the first and third part of the performance frames, in the middle part, the element »earth« .

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui sees in HARBOR ME the harbor as a place where one takes refuge: it offers protection from the elements, and from persecution, but is also a line in the sand, a borderline, which can also keep people out, turn them away. If we consider that each person on stage stands for a different element – fire, water, air – then each element exerts influence, transforms or destroys another element while it is in motion.

After his training at the Performing Arts Research and Training Studios in Brussels Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, who is Flemish of Moroccan descent, began to choreograph as a member of Alain Platel’s dance collective »Les Ballets C de la B«.

He was for many years Artist in Residence at the London theatre Sadler’s Wells and at the Toneelhuis Antwerpen and has in the meanwhile choreographed for many other dance companies. As of the 2022/2023 season he is the successor to Phillippe Cohen as head of the Ballet at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

In WHIM, Fractured Fairytale Alexander Ekman’s sense of humor is in full swing. The theme of this choreography, which in Bonn is having its German premiere, is our constant obsession to want to belong. To a daring, swinging musical collage Ekman has his dancers perform all imaginable kinds of strange escapades, execute crazy dance steps, recite fragments of text, and pull all sorts of zany facial expressions.

AZUL by Jorge Pérez Martínez is a cheerful, high-spirited work. His choreography is based on three Spanish guitar compositions, music that is full of character, each of which evokes in one way or other waves and the sea. The dancers, dressed in 50 different shades of blue, reflect a Spanish, Mediterranean feeling for life: at once, light-hearted, and exuberant, and at the same time, having a certain melancholic aspect.

Jorge Pérez Martínez was born in Spain. He studied classical and contemporary ballet at the Real Conservatorio Professional de Danza in Madrid. After finishing his studies, he danced in different companies in Spain (Santamaria Compania de Danza, Ballet de Carmen Roche), France (Europa Danse), Switzerland (Stadttheater Ballet Bern), and Holland (Introdans).

Introdans approaches ballet in a contemporary way and shows what it can be: creative and surprising. Inrtrodans’ motto is: Introdans moves you — the language of dance is so universal that all generations can be united in appreciating it. Typical for Introdans are dance programs that are accessible for disabled persons and have an innovative focus on education and participation. The Artistic Director of the company Roel Voorinholt has promoted this agenda increasingly since 2005. Alongside the projects involving participation, he has been interested in establishing lasting relationships with other artists and thus, in past years he has intensified the collaboration with internationally renowned choreographers like Robert Battle, Lucinda Childs and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

introdans.nl/en