Arcana Swarm







                           What is joy when its ephemerality and                                 fragility tend towards its own                                         dissolution? In this  new work the                                     performers embody the emotional                                       complexity of joy which constantly                                     collapses. In a visually playful set                                   where three human- sized sculptures                                   are placed the performers unfold a                                     choreographic swing of of joy that                                     turns into horror. “Arcana Swarm” is a                                 new HAU production for seven
                           performers and the third part of the                                   work cycle “The Staggered Dances of                                   Beauty,” which deals with scenarios                                   and varieties of our bodies exposed in                                 a radically changing world. For this                                   piece, Válastur works again with the                                   technique of “morphing” as a                                           transformative force. The body shows                                   the affects and effects                                               that derive from the tensions of the                                   current technological, environmental                                   and political conditions of a                                         precarious and anthropocentric world.


Concept, script & choreography: Kat Válastur/ Performance: Juan Pablo Cámara, Ixchel Mendoza Hernandez, Gaetano Montecasino, Ogbitse Omagbemi, Tamar Sonn, Sarah Stanley, Tiran Willemse / Light design: Martin Beeretz / Sound desigh: Peter Breitenbach / Set design: Leon Eixenberger / Costume: Kat Válastur / Dramaturgical advice: Einav Katan-Schmid, Maja Zimmermann / Outside eye: Alexandra Balona / Yiannis Papachristos / Assistance choreography: Kévin Quinaou / Production management: HAU Artist Office / Sabine Seifert / Touring & distribution: HAU Artist Office / Nicole Schuchardt

Production: Kat Válastur / HAU Hebbel am Ufer. Supported by: The Fondation d’entreprise Hermès as part of its New Settings Program.
Co-production: Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), PACT Zollverein (Essen), Theater Freiburg. Funded by: Capital Cultural Fund (Berlin), Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe. Residency support: STUK Leuven, Tanzhaus Zürich, Centrale Fies / Live Works.






︎︎︎ TQW magazin Kat Valastur