Mark Tompkins / La Cie. I.D.A. (FR/US)
Le Printemps

Mark Tompkins "Le Printemps" © Gilles Toutevoix

Le Printemps

An imaginary country on a dreamed-up continent. There, fabrics, bodies and colours dance to the sounds of the oud, the Arab lute, and the singing of Palestinian musician Kamyla Jubran. US-French choreographer Mark Tompkins plays with the perception of “oriental” and “occidental” symbols like a magician by way of the four dancers’ constantly flowing movements and perpetually changing costumes. He keeps transforming their “springtime” until it vanishes into its covering. Humorous merriment may turn into an icy chill in a flash: “War is less rude than love.” Below the lovely, colourful fluttering the abyss of exile awaits, in which familiar symbols soon become alien. Words are thrown around like weapons, and naked skin flashes from underneath the flapping fabrics. In the process, a veritable canon of images of clashing cultures presents itself. But the women on stage retain control in the conflicts between different realities, the way they are perceived, and many desired changes.

Austrian premiere
Duration: 60 min

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