CULLBERG BALLET FIGURE A SEA 24 September - 30 October 2015

Programme

The Cullberg Ballet continues to challenge the audience's experience of dance and through its curious international collaborations, the ancient company is constantly redrawing the dance map. This time, a total of 21 dancers participate in an artistic cult meeting between some of the biggest names in the performing arts.

See SVT's report on the performance

American Deborah Hay (born 1941 in Brooklyn) has achieved iconic status among choreographers and is considered one of the most radical and influential of the postmodern art movement. Always testing the perception of dance, Hay was one of the first to use everyday movements as part of her work, which became a milestone in dance history. Rooted in the experimental Judson Dance Theatre in New York in the 1960s, she has collaborated with Merce Cunningham, John Cage and Robert Rauschenberg, and during her long career has also created works for artists such as Mikhail Baryshnikov.

The American musician Laurie Anderson began her career as a sculptor and performance artist. A pioneer of electronic music, she has written both popular and art music and collaborated with William Burroughs, Peter Gabriel and Lou Reed, among others. O Superman from 1981 is one of her most famous songs.

In Figure a Sea the dancer and the stage are seen as a sea of infinite possibilities. The choreography moves between being technically skilful and minimalist in its expression. Nothing happens by chance. Hay challenges, without minimising, the intelligence, beauty and speed of the dancer. Lightness, precision, visibility, ambiguity and smoothness are the watchwords of the work.

- Figure a Sea is a meditation on seeing. Seeing music, floating events, synchronisations, collectives and surprises. It's a place for self-reflection, to see yourself see, says Deborah Hay about her new work for the Cullberg Ballet.