ImPulsTanz - Vienna International Dance Festival

ImPulsTanz
Museumstraße 5/21
A-1070 Wien
Austria
Phone: (43) 1-523-55-58
Fax: (43) 1-523-16-839
Email: info@impulstanz.com

ImPulsTanz Celebrates 25th Anniversary!
From July 10 to August 10, 2008, the top-choreographers of contemporary dance will transform ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival - into a big birthday bash. New creations as well as revivals of longtime ImPulsTanz collaborators such as Jan Fabre, Marie Chouinard or William Forsythe provide a taste of current trends in contemporary dance.

Already on the 17th and 19th of June, a cooperation with the Theater an der Wien gives a first impression of the vibrant festival time in summer. Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker and her brilliant company Rosas as well as the Ictus-Ensemble dedicate an evening to Steve Reich, the American composer, who has accompanied the work of the choreographer ever since and has always given her artistic impulses: “Steve Reich Evening” consists of parts of her seminal hypnotic works as well as two new pieces.

Roysten Abel, a master of big gestures, will create the colourful leadup to the festival on the 10th of July in the main yard of the MuseumsQuartier. 43 men, women and children of the Manganiyars, a caste of musicians coming from the North-Indian desert Thar, request from Allah “The Alphabet of Love” to pass it down to the audience. The set of “The Manganiyar Seduction” consists of 36 red curtained cubicles, which are being illuminated in the course of the performance and thus creating a sea of lights and sound.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival is a new production by highly acclaimed Canadian choreographer Marie Chouinard and her company “the most mutant of today’s ballet troups” (LeMonde). In her piece “Orpheus and Eurydice” she draws on Greek mythology to explore the effects of physical lust and passion, but also to ask questions about the birth of language and its power.

The acclaimed French choreographer Mathilde Monnier presents her collaboration with the Spanish Live Art Pioneer La Ribot in the duet “gustavia”.

“bahok” is a unique interplay between award-winning dancer/choreographer Akram Khan, the National Ballet of China and composer Nitin Sawhney. It explores the mystic genesis of linguistic diversity on the mystic basis of the construction of the Tower of Babel.

In the course of a gala-soiree at the Burgtheater, a number of collaborations between terrific choreographers and companies will be featured. The Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris and the Kirov Ballet St. Peterburg will present choreographies by Angelin Preljocaj and William Forsythe. Pieces by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Marie Chouinard will also be part of the gala performance.

Robyn Orlin, one of the most provocative South African choreographers, examines the political situation in her home country by transposing bitingly ironic and almost surrealistic stories from everyday life within her latest piece “dressed to kill…killed to dress…”.

Together with the company Rosas choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and the pianist Alain Franco meet the challenge of the inconsistent relationship between music and dance, choreography and improvisation as well as romance and disillusionment in their piece “Zeitung”. They pass through a range outlined by geometrical principles as well as improvisational elements using music from Bach, Schoenberg and Webern.

The Austrian dance scene will be represented among others by Golden Lion 07 award winners Chris Haring / liquid loft. Also Moravia Naranjo collaborating with Benoît Lachambre, Hubert Lepka and lawine torrén as well as Roderich Madl and Silke Grabinger will be guests of the festival and give an insight of the rapid evolution of Austrian dance.

The [8:tension]+ Young Choreographers’ Series will present fresh, challenging, unconventional work by 12 emerging choreographers from all over the world, such as Ibrahim Quraishi (PK/NL), Matija Ferlin (HR), Diego Gil (AR/NL) or Ayse Orhon (TR).

The Workshop Festival 2008 offers more than 200 courses ranging from contemporary dance to ballet, jazz, hip-hop, Pilates and yoga. Under the guidance of renowned teachers the courses are designed for all levels, from beginners to professional dancers, for children as well as for the generation 55 plus. People interested in participating can apply for the workshops from may on http://www.ImPulsTanz.com. The web site also provides additional programming information.

http://www.impulstanz.com