Companhia Nacional de Bailado: Dançar em tempo de guerra [Dancing during wartime],
A programme that brings together Chronicle and A Mesa Verde, two works by two reference choreographers of the 20th century, Martha Graham and Kurt Jooss, respectively.
May
2021
Mon
24
The Companhia Nacional de Bailado [National Ballet Company] presents Dançar em tempo de guerra [Dancing during wartime], a programme that brings together Chronicle and A Mesa Verde, two works by two reference choreographers of the 20th century, Martha Graham and Kurt Jooss, respectively.
Both created in the 30s of the last century, reflect the concerns of their authors about the idea of war. If Jooss works from the effects of World War I, Graham reports on the tragic social and human consequences, reflecting the context of the time. After being danced the last time at CNB, in 1987, A Mesa Verde returns to the stage together with Chronicle, by Martha Graham, the choreographer who became part of the company's repertoire with this work, in March 2020.
Premiered in December 1936, Chronicle does not translate a realistic representation of events but reveals the universality of the American choreographer about the tragedy of war. Originally created in five sections, it was, however, reassembled by the Martha Graham Dance Company, and today it is presented in a version reduced to three sections: Specter-1914, Steps in the Street, and Prelude to Action.
Four years earlier, in July 1932, German choreographer Kurt Jooss debuted A Mesa Verde at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. Inspired by a medieval death dance and the aftermath of World War I, this work portrays several facets of war, in which death is always present. Considered one of the most striking choreographic works of the 20th century, A Mesa Verde is also the most emblematic work of Jooss, having received the first prize in the choreography contest organized by the International Dance Archives, in Paris. This piece was part of the CNB repertoire in 1984 and was last danced by the company 33 years ago.
Under this programme, CNB invited visual artist André Guedes to design an exhibition on these works and their political, social and cultural context, which will be at the Foyer of the Grand Auditorium of Teatro Rivoli.
The show is presented on May 28 and 29, Friday and Saturday, at 7 pm in the Grand Auditorium of Teatro Rivoli.
Both created in the 30s of the last century, reflect the concerns of their authors about the idea of war. If Jooss works from the effects of World War I, Graham reports on the tragic social and human consequences, reflecting the context of the time. After being danced the last time at CNB, in 1987, A Mesa Verde returns to the stage together with Chronicle, by Martha Graham, the choreographer who became part of the company's repertoire with this work, in March 2020.
Premiered in December 1936, Chronicle does not translate a realistic representation of events but reveals the universality of the American choreographer about the tragedy of war. Originally created in five sections, it was, however, reassembled by the Martha Graham Dance Company, and today it is presented in a version reduced to three sections: Specter-1914, Steps in the Street, and Prelude to Action.
Four years earlier, in July 1932, German choreographer Kurt Jooss debuted A Mesa Verde at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. Inspired by a medieval death dance and the aftermath of World War I, this work portrays several facets of war, in which death is always present. Considered one of the most striking choreographic works of the 20th century, A Mesa Verde is also the most emblematic work of Jooss, having received the first prize in the choreography contest organized by the International Dance Archives, in Paris. This piece was part of the CNB repertoire in 1984 and was last danced by the company 33 years ago.
Under this programme, CNB invited visual artist André Guedes to design an exhibition on these works and their political, social and cultural context, which will be at the Foyer of the Grand Auditorium of Teatro Rivoli.
The show is presented on May 28 and 29, Friday and Saturday, at 7 pm in the Grand Auditorium of Teatro Rivoli.
