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Showing posts from July, 2017

tabula rasa for unlimited imagination: the great tamer by dimitris papaioannou

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photo: mehmet kerem özel  when we enter the auditorium, this scene welcomes us: a pitch-black landscape of low heights; in front, a man in a pitch-black suit but with bare feet is lying. there is a pair of pitch-black boots just in front of him. while we are taking our seats, he first opens his eyes and then puts his arms under his head as if gazing at the sky. while the lights of the auditorium are fading, he gets up and puts the boots on; he walks to upper stage right near a one-legged round stool. first he takes the boots off, then his clothes; he is left totally naked. while gazing at us, he walks to center stage, turns one of the black panels over and lies on the cream-colored side of it. a little while later, a man in a black suit approaches him from upper stage right with a white sheet in his hand. he covers him entirely with it with two sharp, decisive arm movements. a little while after he retreats, a second man in black suit enters lower stage right. he approaches t

Spectating the atmospheric in-betweenness: Peeping Tom

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published on ART UNLIMITED 38 (September 2016)  https://issuu.com/artunlimited_tr/docs/unlimited_eng_26082016_a4/60 Prolog A décor built in the emptiness of the stage space; a room defined by its floor and two perpendicular walls. There are numerous doors and a window on the walls. One or two people sitting on the chairs in the empty spaces left in two sides of the décor on the stage. Some of the spotlights are placed in these areas and made a part of the atmosphere that was created on the stage: the ones that watch ‘the scene on the stage’ and we, the audience, who watch both. When we first encounter this stage under a darkish light when the curtain is raised, a light coming on and off from the pee hole of the door facing us is visibly seen; as if there is someone behind the door and looking at us from the hole. As one moves, the light coming behind her/him goes off and reappears, just like when you look at the neighbor’s door when you are outside in the stair landing

two works by peeping tom for ndt I: "the missing door” and “the lost room”

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photo: danzon atmosphere and inspirations you come to the theater to see a dance or a dance theater piece, but it is impossible to define what goes on the stage as dance or dance theatre. yes, these two works contain parts with dance and also certain characteristics of dance theatre too. however, similar to other works or their creators which i had seen, it seems that, for them, rather than dance choreographies, it is more important to design a choreography to create a certain atmosphere on the stage. an atmosphere having the qualities which no one ever thought to create on stage before. their inspiration is not a secret of course, especially the cinema of david lynch and all the things that those movies evoke: a mysterious, weird, surreal and nightmare-like atmosphere… as for the content, i can associate it with ingmar bergman cinema: digging the relationships/problems in human relations, especially those in the family (between woman-man, parent-child, mother-son, mother-daug

32 rue vandenbranden by peeping tom

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“peeping tom” is a group located in belgium, in which an argentinian and a french choreographer, gabriela carrizo and franck chartier collectively produce works. carrizo and chartier met while they were working for the famous belgian choreographer and orthopedic therapist alain platel. they gained recognition in europe especially with the triology consisting of le jardin (2001) – le salon (2004) – le sous sol (2007). in addition to rewards they received with the trilogy, they continued to receive rewards successively and furthermore indulge into new collaborations. their last work “vader” received the best international dance work award of 2014 in barcelona, while their previous work “32 rue vandenbranden” received the best new dance work award in 2015 olivier awards. in may 2015 they produced a work named “the land” with the players of munich residenztheater which is one of the prestigious theater companies of germany. “the missing door” which was staged by carrizo in 2013