AN INTRODUCTION
Olga de Soto focuses her vision on Kurt Jooss’ legendary work The Green Table, premièred in Paris in 1932, and renowned not only for its socio-political and pacifist message, but also for the stand its creator took against the first anti-Semitic laws enacted by Hitler upon his rise to power in 1933.
On a bare stage, accompanied by a screen where archive videos and images are projected, Olga de Soto tells about her research work on Jooss' ballet. The choreographer reveals the before and after of the show, that is to say the process of inquiry and the impression it has made. Step by step she creates a moment of openness and immediacy with the audience, intended to make sharing the process of creation as important as the outcome of the work. And it is with this desire of sharing that she retraces the process of a complex work filled with issues and developments, avenues opened and explored in a documentary endeavour that is also a real investigation. Undreamed treasures, gleaned throughout a rich dramaturgical journey working towards a touching collective memory that it is important to recall.
PRESS | DOSSIER
production Niels Production, in collaboration with Caravan Production (Brussels)
co-production Centre Chorégraphique National de Franche-Comté (Belfort), Les Halles de Scherbeek (Brussels), Tanz Im August (Berlin)
supported by Ministère de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles – Service de la danse, Wallonie Bruxelles International, Archives Jooss (Köln/Amsterdam) of the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln (German Dance Archives)
research grants by French Ministry of Culture and Communication, the programme Aide à la recherche et au Patrimoine en Danse of French Ministry of Culture and Communication and Federation Wallonia-Brussels
This project was supported by Les Halles de Schaerbeek (Brussels) from 2009 to 2012, in the frame of the activities by Olga de Soto as associated artist
research residencies Centre Chorégraphique de la Communauté française de Belgique – Charleroi Danses (Brussels, 2006-2009), Centre national de la Danse (Paris, 2006)
languages of the performance French and English
length 1h10
concept, documentation, text, camera, sound, video direction and performance Olga de Soto
video editing Julien Contreau and Olga de Soto
lighting Thomas Walgrave
light technician Geni Diez
sound and video technician Pierre Gufflet, Julien Lamaze or Eric Desjeux
software credits movie Pierre Gufflet
scenography and costumes Olga de Soto
research assistant companies Karin Verbruggen
research assistant at Tanzarchiv Köln Katja Herlemann
subtitles Niels Production
with Olga de Soto
and the testimonies by Micheline Hesse, Brigitte Evellin, Suzanne Batbedat, Françoise Olivaux, Frederic Stern, Françoise Dupuy and Michelle Nadal
DOCUMENTS
voice off Kurt Jooss (extract from the interview Berghson-Jooss, California, 1974, courtesy of Tanzarchiv Köln)
pictures by Fritz Henle, Albert Renger-Patzsch (Albert Renger-Patzsch Archiv – Ann und Juergen Wilde / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / SABAM, Belgium 2010) and unknown photographs
Programmes' notes are courtesy of the archives of Ballet Arizona, Ballet du Rhin, Bayerisches Staatballett, Birmingham Royal Ballet, former Cleveland Ballet now San José, Cullberg Ballett, Deutschen Tanzarchiv Köln (for Folkwang Tanztheater, Ballets Jooss, Folkwang Ballet and Tanzforum Köln), Finnish National Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Het National Ballet, Israel Dance Library - Tel-Aviv (for Batsheva Dance Company), Joffrey Ballet, José Limón Dance Foundation, Malmö Stadsteater, Oakland Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Tanzarchiv Leipzig (for Deutsche Oper, Berlin), Winnipeg Royal Ballet & Zürich Ballet
An Introduction is an analytical work that takes Kurt Jooss’ piece The Green Table as its starting-point.
This performance includes excerpts from interviews in French and English.
The text has been originally written in French. Olga de Soto being bilingual (FR/ESP) the documentary performance can be performed in French or Spanish. For other languages subtitles are needed.The performance has been translated in Czech, Dutch, German, English, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.
CZ | The Czech version has been coproduced in collaboration with Tanec Praha, Prague (CZ).
DE | The German version has been coproduced in collaboration with Tanz Im August, Berlin (DE).
EN | The English version has been produced by Niels Production, Brussels (BE).
ES | The Spanish version has been produced by Niels Production (BE).
FR | The French version has been produced by Niels Production (BE).
IT | The Italian version has been coproduced in collaboration with Festival Astiteatro, Asti (IT).
NL | The Dutch version has been coproduced in collaboration with Caravan Production, Brussels (BE).
PL | The Polish version has been coproduced in collaboration with CK Zamek, Poznan (PL).
PT | The Portuguese version has been coproduced in collaboration with Culturgest, Lisbonne (PT).
Première at Festival Tanz Im August, Berlin (DE), in 2010
© Mila Ros
AN INTRODUCTION (excerpts), Teatros del Canal, Madrid, 2018
TOUR CALENDAR
25 AUG 2010, Festival Tanz Im August, Berlin (DE)
26 AUG 2010, Festival Tanz Im August, Berlin (DE)
26 OCT 2010, Prési-danses, Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Brussels (BE)
27 OCT 2010, Prési-danses, Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Brussels (BE)
09 FEB 2011, Mercat de les Flors, Barcelone (ES)
06 APR 2011, Tanzquartier Wien, Vienna (AT)
17 APR 2011, Springdance Festival, Utrecht (NL)
20 JUNE 2011, Festival Uzès Danse, Uzès (FR)
06 OCT 2011, Les Halles, Festival Latitudes, Brussels (BE)
04 NOV 2011, Culturgest, Lisbon (PT)
05 NOV 2011, Culturgest, Lisbon (PT)
11 NOV 2011, MARCO - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Resistencia/Días de acción y pensamiento, Vigo (ES)
14 DEC 2011, Centre Pompidou, Paris (FR)
15 DEC 2011, Centre Pompidou, Paris (FR)
15 FEB 2012, Festival Pays de Danse, Centre Culturel d'Engis, Engis (BE)
03 AUG 2012, Festival Tanzwerkstatt Europa, Joint Adventures, Münich (DE)
26 OCT 2012, SESC Bom Retiro, São Paulo (BR)
27 OCT 2012, SESC Bom Retiro, São Paulo (BR)
19 APR 2013, Compil d'Avril / Les Brigittines, Brussels (BE)
21 SEP 2013, CK Zamek, Archive of the Body, Poznan (PL)
24 OCT 2013, Bienal do Ceará, SESC Iracema, Fortaleza (BR)
01 NOV 2013, KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Art / Festival Moving in November, Helsinki (FI)
02 NOV 2013, KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Art / Festival Moving in November, Helsinki (FI)
13 MAR 2014, Dansens Hus, Performing the Archives, Stockholm (SE)
14 MAR 2014, Dansens Hus, Performing the Archives, Stockholm (SE)
13 JUNE 2014, Théâtre Les Tanneurs, Focus Olga de Soto, Brussels (BE)
14 JUNE 2014, Théâtre Les Tanneurs, Focus Olga de Soto, Brussels (BE)
28 OCT 2014, Festival BAD, Bilbao (ES)
07 FEB 2015, Festival Escenas do Cambio, Cidade da Cultura, Santiago de Compostela (ES)
11 JUNE 2015, Festival Tanec Praha, Prague (CZ)
26 JUNE 2015, Festival Astiteatro, Teatro Alfieri, Asti (IT)
22 AUG 2015, Festival Transversales, Teatro Raul Gamboa, San Luis Potosí (MEX)
23 AUG 2015, Festival Transversales, Teatro Raul Gamboa, San Luis Potosí (MEX)
25 AUG 2015, Festival Transversales, Teatro Orientación, México DF (MEX)
26 AUG 2015, Festival Transversales, Teatro Orientación, México DF (MEX)
29 OCT 2016, NAVE, en collaboration avec le Goethe Institut et Tanzfonds Erbe, Santiago du Chili (CL)
30 OCT 2016, NAVE, en collaboration avec le Goethe Institut et Tanzfonds Erbe, Santiago du Chili (CL)
02 NOV 2017, Teatro Central, Mes de Danza, Seville (ES)
03 NOV 2017, Teatro Central, Mes de Danza, Seville (ES)
09 NOV 2017, Sala Hiroshima, Ciclo Hacer historia(s), Barcelona (ES)
10 NOV 2017, Sala Hiroshima, Ciclo Hacer historia(s), Barcelona (ES)
09 MAR 2018, Teatros del Canal, Madrid (ES)
10 MAR 2018, Teatros del Canal, Madrid (ES)
15 SEP 2018, Le Printemps des Laboratoires #6, Les Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers, Aubervilliers (FR)
02 MAY 2019, Teatre Principal, Palma de Mallorca (ES)
04 MAI 2019, La Mutant — Espai d’arts vives, Valencia (ES)
12 NOV 2019, CCN de Tours (FR)