Description
Pursuit of Happiness a dance piece by Joshua Monten
Tickets: 15.- Euro, 10.- Euro reduced EVENTIM Ticketshop > https://dock11-berlin.de/tickets-2/
Address: DOCK 11, Kastanienallee 79, 10435 Berlin
Dance is a powerful technology of mood: a tool for reflection, emotional manipulation, catharsis and ecstasy. And a dance performance is an excellent place to look for answers to life’s questions. In “The Pursuit of Happiness,” both the performers and the audience members join in on the search — by examining their own basic needs, witnessing each other’s struggles, and trying out different paths to fulfillment.
One of Switzerland’s leading ensembles, the Joshua Monten Dance Company specializes in creating playfully interactive Tanztheater performances that are highly physical and emotionally charged. In their newest creation, “The Pursuit of Happiness” the audience is distributed throughout the performance space. Their reactions are visible to all, thus they become characters in the very performance they are witnessing.
The U.S. Declaration of Independence famously insists on the rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But is it really possible to hunt for happiness? Where does this strange beast reside? And how does our quest depend on the people around us?
A guiding principle of our “Pursuit of Happiness” is that we do not hunt alone. Both the performers and the audience members search for happiness within each other, examining one other’s moods, unspoken needs, trigger points and ticklish spots. They find new ways to communicate at the intersection of words, sign language and movement. Some feelings prove to be contagious, spreading in infectious chain reactions around the room.
Our hunt knows no end. Once found, happiness slips from our grasp. The choreography is structured by cycles of fulfillment and emptiness, by vertiginous cross-fades between hope and despair. Movement itself plays a central role in our quest/journey: the thrill of discovery, the satisfaction of being submerged in the flow of deeply felt experience, the eternal question of how to get your groove on.
Choreography: Joshua Monten Performance: Marioenrico D’Angelo, Angela Demattè, Frederik Kaijser, Jack Wignall Dramaturgy: Guy Cools Stage: Romy Springsguth Costume: Catherine Voeffray Light: Mirjam Berger Photo: Jonas Kambli
Website: http://joshuamonten.com/pursuit
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoshuaMontenDanceCompany Instagram: JoshuaMontenDance
Coproduktion: Dampfzentrale Bern, Südpol Luzern
Supported by: Pro Helvetia, SWISSLOS / Kultur Kanton Bern, Kultur Stadt Bern, Burgergemeinde Bern, Migros Kulturprozent, GVB Kulturstiftung, Stanley Thomas Johnson Stiftung, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Bürgi-Willert-Stiftung, Gwärtler Stiftung, Stiftung Anne-Marie Schindler