Cie. Eva-Maria Schaller & Wolfgang Mitterer (AT)
Walzerwut

Dance at the edge of time

They say that merry apocalypticists acknowledge the abyss, take a deep breath and try to dance on a tightrope stretched across it. This sextet doesn’t need such props; however, pop musician Johann Strauss is part and parcel of the piece. Specifically, Wolfgang Mitterer’s mix of his greatest hits, which include the most wonderful waltzes in the world. Strauss’ almost absurdly exaggerated frenzy of waltz, polka and mazurka continues to scratch the surfaces of the happily repressive bourgeoisie and their immortal drinking song “Happy is he who forgets...”. On top of that, Eva-Maria Schaller’s Dance on the Edge of Time recalls Austrian peace activist Bertha von Suttner and polycritic Karl Kraus, whose tragedy The Last Days of Mankind exposes the “idiocy” of derailing societies from back in the day through to the present.