Dance for Franz
Taking the music of Schubert as a starting point, SASHA WALTZ and her collaborators have thrown in a dose of other inspirations to create a series of bold, theatrical Impromptus.
hen Franz Schubert died of syphilis at the tender age of 3]. he had already penned over 600 songs. Yet despite such a prolific outpouring of largely romantic masterpieces. the Austrian composer was resolutely unltrcky in love. Two centuries later. his troubled life struck a chord with German choreographer. Sasha Waltz. Searching for a piece of music to accompany her latest creation. Waltz settled upon four of Schubert’s lieder (songs) as a framework. She also read the late composer‘s biography. fuelling herself with ideas and emotions for her dance. lmpmmprrrs. ‘l‘m not dancing Schubert‘s life. but I was inspired by it.’ explains Waltz. ‘His lifelong search for love that he never really found. the endless yearning inside him. And nature was also important in his music. particularly water.‘ (‘horeographed in 2004. lnrpnmlplus' was soon picked up by lidinburgh International Festival director. Brian McMaster. He had invited Waltz to the l‘estival four years earlier. with her
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fascinating and at times brutal exploration of the human body. KUI'IN’I'. This time. Waltz has focused on matters of the heart and mind. creating a ‘series ofemotional states‘. Performed on stage with a live soprano and piano accompaniment. Impmmpnm is something of a departure for Waltz. Not only is the piece rrrore ‘dancey’ than anything she has created before. it’s also her first foray into classical music.
‘I usually work with contemporary composers who create the piece with me.‘ says Waltz. ‘I‘ve never used classical music before. so this was like a whole new episode in my dancing career. It was quite a trip and so inspiring to enter into this musical universe.‘ Her choice of Schubert lieder has allowed Waltz to explore new territory with a safety net. Rather than tackling a huge. unwieldy score. she was able to piece the songs together to suit her choreography. And at times. work in complete silence. ‘I was looking for music which had an open form. not a big orchestra and score.‘ she explains. ‘I didn't want
‘DANGER IS ALWAYS PRESENT AND THE DANCERS HAVE TO CONSTANTLY DEAL WITH THAT'
to be inside a musical structure. but to able to play with the different parts.‘
The choreography itself is peppered with bold theatrical moments. such as dancers painting the floor. sloshing onto the stage with water-filled boots. or wrestling on the mess created by both. The result leaves marks both on the stage and the dancers themselves. a living embodiment of the emotional baggage we all carry on a daily basis. ‘It‘s like the prints that are somehow in us all. inside our soul or our memory.‘ explains Waltz. ‘And the idea is that you make them visible. I wanted to show that the movement and the energy is not gone — that the dancers leave visual and material traces of themselves.‘
Aside from Schubert. Waltz finds inspiration in a number of sources. not least her surroundings. Having studied in Amsterdam and New York. she has spent the past l2 years based in Berlin. ‘lt‘s a very complicated city.‘ says Waltz. ‘lt‘s not really beautiful because it has a lot of historic wounds. but it's always in flow and transforming. I find it very stimulating. and it‘s always been a very fruitful place for me to work.‘ Over the years. Waltz has built up a repertoire of bold. exciting dance theatre. each created through a process of collaboration. The choreographic credit for Inr/n‘nnrptu.s' goes not only to Waltz. but to the seven dancers who perform it. Typical of the woman whose company goes by the name ‘Sasha Waltz and Guests‘. rather than the usual ‘and dancers‘.
‘l have always invited other artists to work with me.‘ explains Waltz. ‘And it could be a visual artist. a composer. a dancer. So even though it‘s very clear that I‘m the choreographer. I wanted to credit the independent artists themselves.‘ [I obviously fosters an amiable working environment. because Waltz demands more than most from her dancers. ln Korpcr. the performers were trapped behind glass like flies. while lmpmmprus finds them balanced on a sharply raked stage. ‘I discussed just how nruch I could tilt it with the dancers.‘ she says laughing. ‘But it's always important to rrre to give them physical tasks to work with. The general underlying atmosphere in lmpromptus is one of fragility — that you can suddenly drop and fall. Danger is always present. and the dancers have to constantly deal with that.‘
Playhouse, 473 2000, 15 8. 16 Aug, 8pm, 526-5215.