index of /iwishicoulddescribeittoyoubetter/wework/hölderlin lesen - trio

A performance project about translation and method. Arnhem, NL, 2004.

by Thomas Körtvelyéssy (choreography), performed by liron dinowitz, kirsten enkelmann and erica knoedler with costumes by 何京蕴 anouchka van driel and 何穎雅 elaine w. ho




Dance Unlimited, profile Open Form Composition.
Performed in Rotterdam and at Dansacademie Arnhem, Netherlands, February 2004.

Made as a performative extension to “Hölderlin lesen I” (1979), a string quartet with voice by Hans Zender from the unfinished poem "An die Madonna" by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1832).

Like the recited text, the choreography is fragmentary and the dancers find their way through it anew in every performance.

The text by German poet Hölderlin is a plea of the poet/seer to the Mother Mary as the Christian interpretation of the Mother Goddess, who is called upon as the protector of the young and growing in nature, against the acerbity of the old and embittered.

The music by Hans Zender makes a transition of this text into the 20th century and juxtaposes serial composition and spoken voice with pseudo-Beethoven motives, himself a contemporary of Hölderlin.

The dancers in turn "read" between these two layers of text and combine them in a danced interpretation that transcends style (pedestrian, classical ballet) and method (set choreography vs. open improvisation) into a more timeless and holistic event, bringing forward the content...

[text by Thomas Körtvelyéssy]