Rain (live)

In front of a gigantic curtain of ropes, ten dancers measure the space with their movements – soft circular and spiralling figures that are constantly interrupted by clear lines and diagonals. To the sound of composer Steve Reich’s heartbeat-like rhythm, a constant alternation of tension and release, chaos and order, vertiginous acceleration and sudden stops generates a maelstrom that tells of vitality and connectedness.

Following “Fase” (1982) and “Drumming” (1998), “Rain” is De Keerskmaeker’s third exploration of Steve Reich’s minimal music. With seven female and three male dancers, she translates the slight shifts, tiny variations, mathematical formations and repetitions of Reich’s musical structure into an exuberant geometric game of vital and yet exhausting group choreographies.

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker is considered one of the most internationally influential choreography of our times. Following her studies at the MUDRA School for Dance and the Tisch School of the Arts in New York, she choreographed her first own work, “Asch”, in 1980, which already clearly demonstrated her interest in the close interaction of movement and music. In 1983, De Keersmaeker founded her company Rosas. Her most recent performances at Berliner Festspiele were “Cesena” and “En Atendant” in 2012 and “Partita 2” in 2013.

The Ictus Ensemble, who have also visited Berliner Festspiele several times, is renowned for its unusual concert formats.