The acclaimed Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company, a leading force in European contemporary dance, returns to the LAC with a double bill that brings together the choreography (and methods) of William Forsythe and Ioannis Mandafounis.
Undertainment / À la Carte
Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company / William Forsythe / Ioannis Mandafounis
1h10’
Undertainment / À la Carte
Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company / William Forsythe / Ioannis Mandafounis
1h10’
Considered one of the most influential and innovative choreographers of the late 20th century, William Forsythe led the Ballett Frankfurt from 1984 to 2004 and, subsequently, from 2005 to 2015, he directed The Forsythe Company, later renamed the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company. For the first time, he returns to collaborate with the company, presenting a new work centered on improvisation. Like a kaleidoscope, within a clear and structured framework, the choreographer brings out unpredictable and surprising patterns, inviting the dancers to explore, without limits, the system of movement they themselves have created. It is up to the audience to follow this exploration and experience the work as a living, pulsating system.
In an ideal passing of the torch, the second part of the evening is entrusted to Greek choreographer and dancer Ioannis Mandafounis, who trained with The Forsythe Company, of which he is now the director. *À la carte* is the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company’s first creation under Mandafounis’s artistic direction. On stage, various objects, sound effects, music, and lighting bring to life a variety of choreographic styles, atmospheres, and themes. The starting point is always the encounter between the ensemble and the audience, as if together they were composing a rich and surprising menu. Framing the performance is Mandafounis’s dance methodology, which allows for the creation of a live choreography, directly on stage. Almost nothing in this work is predetermined: every movement arises from the interaction between the dancers’ bodies.