Dance and Ballet Premieres
Thursdays in May
Every Thursday evening in May, Stingray Classica premieres a brand-new dance or ballet performance from leading ballet companies and some of the world’s most celebrated choreographers. The kicks off on May 7 with The Feeling of Going, a large-scale, visually stunning theatre production by choreographer Ben Wright, set to the mesmerizing album GO, by Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi. The following week, Hervé Koubi and his dance company present Barbarian Nights, Koubi’s second oeuvre featuring twelve Algerian and Burkinan dancers. With Music and Dance for a While (May 21) Stingray Classica viewers will immerse into a unique atmosphere, in which marvellous musicians from all over the world get together for an improvised tribute to Henry Purcell's music. On the last Thursday evening of May, Stingray Classica presents a true double-bill: Tero Saarinen’s signature solo HUNT is one of the most celebrated contemporary interpretations of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and is praised by audiences and critics alike, while Mourad Merzouki unites five of his choreographer friends and thirty dancers in order to create Répertoire #1, which revives the most memorable pieces of the last years and presenting their creators in their aesthetic uniqueness.
The Feeling of Going
Thursday, May 7 | 21:00
The Feeling of Going is a large-scale, visually stunning theatre production by choreographer Ben Wright, set to the mesmerizing album GO, by Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi. The songs are performed by singers from the Malmö Opera and internationally renowned solo artist, Moto Boy. The orchestrated score is performed by the Malmö Opera Orchestra. This ballet production received rave reviews from both critics and audiences. Join us on a journey into an extraordinary dream world where anything can happen. Recorded at Malmö Opera, Sweden in 2017.
Barbarian Nights
Thursday, May 14 | 21:00
Barbarian Nights is the second oeuvre of choreographer Hervé Koubi with twelve Algerian and Burkinan dancers, selected on an audition in Algeria in 2009. When Koubi speaks of barbarians it is in its historical sense, and to remind us that the Mediterranean regions were traversed and jolted by different conquerors, coming from the East, or the North or the South – and this created at the time more bonds than opposites, more mixtures than divisions, more marriages than murders. To evoke millions of years of history in ballet choreography is practically impossible and Koubi passes this with excellence.
Music and Dance for a While
Thursday, May 21 | 21:00
In Music and Dance for a While we are immersed in a unique atmosphere, in which marvellous musicians from all over the world get together for an improvised tribute to Purcell's music. The art of improvisation that is spearheaded by Christina Pluhar and their musicians in the contemporary classical music scene is also the art of all jazzmen. In this jam session of the most original kind, the voices of soprano Céline Scheen, tenor Vincenzo Capezzuto and the viola culminate in a musical experience that offers an all new experience for the listener. And thanks to the Mei Hong Lin's innovative choreography, it is a delight to the viewer alike. Christina Pluhar and Arpeggiata illustrate the timelessness of the music of Henry Purcell by applying the improvisational freedom of jazz to his music in this astonishing concert-ballet. Recorded at Landestheater Linz in Austria, in November 2017.
Repertoire #1
Thursday, May 28 | 21:00
Mourad Merzouki unites five of his choreographer friends and thirty dancers in order to create Répertoire #1 which revives the most memorable pieces of the last years and gives these pieces a continuous life while presenting their creators in their aesthetic uniqueness. Multicultural fusion is always a dominant feature in Merzouki's work. Over time, he has incorporated circus, contemporary dance and puppets, and brought in Algerian, Brazilian, and Taiwanese performers. His Compagnie Käfig gives an average of 150 performances a year, tours extensively and has developed a very French style of hip-hop blending it with other art forms. Répertoire #1 presents a piece each by Kader Attou (“Douar”), Anthony Égéa (“Urban Ballet”), Bouba Landrille Tschouda (“Têtes d'affiches”), and Marion Motin (“In the Middle”) and four pieces by Mourad Merzouki to form an evening´s spectacle. Recorded live at les Nuits de Fourvière in Lyon.
Hunt (The Rite of Spring)
Thursday, May 28 | 22:00
Tero Saarinen’s signature solo HUNT is one of the most celebrated contemporary interpretations of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, praised by audiences and critics alike. An exciting new screen version based on Saarinen’s final performances of the work offers one more chance to experience this ground-breaking work on television. Commissioned by the Venice Biennale in 2002, HUNT is a collaboration of choreographer-dancer Tero Saarinen and multimedia artist Marita Liulia. Saarinen toured with the work until the Rite's centennial in 2013. Finland's national public service broadcasting company YLE recorded the choreographer's last performances in his home city, Helsinki, at the main stage of the Finnish National Theatre in May 2013. Featuring material shot on stage and in the YLE studios, this exciting new screen version of HUNT gives audiences the possibility to experience this ground-breaking work once more - and for the first time ever on the silver screen.