Raucous crowds, convulsing bodies, ecstatic euphoria: so-called “dance crazes” occur throughout European history and belong to one of the most curious human phenomena of all: relentless dancing that spilled over into mass movements over the course of days and months, filled the streets, and ended in complete exhaustion and even death. Many explanations for this dance mania have been proffered over the centuries, including possession by evil spirits and the medical invention of hysteria (at the time exclusively diagnosed in women)
Each craze has the same pathology: it begins with a single body and infects others with unprecedented speed. The contagiousness of the phenomenon confirmed suspicions that it was an uncurable disease even though no distinctive cause was ever discovered. To this day dance mania remains unexplained.
Inspired by these events Danish artist Mette Ingvartsen explores collective ecstasy in the post-pandemic era.
Her solo fills the room with stories, electronic music, and jerking movements. In contrast to a classical setting, the audience finds itself in the middle of the action: Ingvartsen moves through the crowd as if she were dancing in a public space or lost in the rapture of an endless rave.
“The Dancing Public” is an invitation to feel the mania in your own body. The collective flow, the pull of its current, turns the evening into a mixture of dance fest, spoken-word concert, and exuberant party.
Simply put: “The Dancing Public” deals with dance mania. Many years ago, people danced in the streets without reason and without stopping. In the piece one dancer dances through the audience. There are no chairs. The audience is allowed to dance themselves.
Info
Duration: 75 minutes, no intermission.
Performance without seats. The audience spreads out standing in the room.
Spoken language: English, the English text is available here: PDF in English.
Age recommendation: 16+ (To really understand the text and what the show is about, the company recommends this age.)
Trigger/content warnings: Heavy strobing occurs during the show.
World premiere: 4.9.2021, PACT Zollverein Essen
Further information: metteingvartsen.net
Following the performance on April 26th in Zurich, an afterparty will take place. Here is the program.
The performance on 28.4 in Geneva is part of the opening night of the "Fête de la Danse Genève". Here is the program.
Credits
Concept and performance: Mette Ingvartsen
Lighting design: Minna Tiikkainen
Set design: Mette Ingvartsen & Minna Tiikkainen
Musical arrangements: Mette Ingvartsen & Anne van de Star
Music: Affkt feat. Sutja Gutierrez, Scanner, Radio Boy, LCC, VII Circle, Kangding Ray, Paula Temple, Ron Morelli, Valanx, Anne van de Star
Costumes: Jennifer Defays
Dramaturgy: Bojana Cvejić
French translation: Gilles Amalvi
Technical direction: Hans Meijer
Sound technician: Anne van de Star
Company management: Ruth Collier
Production and administration: Joey Ng
Production: Great Investment vzw
Co-production: PACT Zollverein (Essen), Kaaitheater (Brussels), Festival d’Automne (Paris), Tanzquartier (Vienna), SPRING Performing Arts Festival (Utrecht), Kunstencentrum Vooruit (Ghent), Les Hivernales – Centre de Développement Chorégraphique National d’Avignon , Charleroi danse centre chorégraphique de Wallonie – Bruxelles, NEXT festival, Dansens Hus Oslo
With the support of: Fondation d’entreprise Hermès within the frame of the New Settings Program; Bikubenfonden.Kunstencentrum Buda (Kortrijk)
Funded by: The Flemish Authorities, The Danish Arts Council & The Flemish Community Commission (VGC)
Mette Ingvarsten
Mette Ingvartsen is a Danish dancer and choreographer. She was educated at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, among other places, and later received a PhD from UNIARTS/University Lund in Sweden. In 2003 she founded her own company. Over the past twenty years she created countless pieces that were performed in Europe, Canada, Australia, Asia, and the US. Her characteristically hybrid work combines language with technological elements and the visual arts. The compelling nature of her aesthetic derives from extensive research and the engagement with relevant contemporary discourses. For example, in the series “The Red Pieces,” which consists of “69 Positions” (2014), “7 Pleasures” (2015), “to come (extended),” and “21 pornographies” (2017), she takes a closer look at nudity, sexuality, and the human body as the scene of political power struggles. In 2021 she devised “The Life Work,” a location-specific project with elderly people dealing with migration. Aside from performing, writing, and teaching, Ingvartsen gives courses and workshops at universities and art schools and participates in collective research projects all over the globe. Picture © Bea Borgers
