Sacre

Sasha Waltz

Igor Strawinsky

Considered one of the key works of modernism, it is a 100 years after the genesis of Igor Stravinsky’s »Le Sacre du Printemps« that Sasha Waltz takes on the Mariinsky Theatre’s offer to engage with this extraordinary piece of musical and dance history. Its title translates to »The Rite of Spring«. The strikingly archaic, tension-charged and angular composition is characterized by a strongly emphasized rhythm, precipitous drops and a layering of constantly repeating musical motives. Its many almost noise-like dissonances and expressionist sonic impressions have made the work one of the most famous pieces of music of the modern avant-garde. Earlier large-format pieces of Sasha Waltz’, amongst others »Na Zemlje« (1998) or »Continu« (2010), have already showcased elements of her research into rites and group dynamics. With her choreography of Igor Stravinsky’s »Le Sacre du Printemps«, she dedicates an entire piece to these themes, in performances often accompanied by the »Scène d’amour« from »Roméo et Juliette« by Hector Berlioz and her choreography »L’Après-midi d’un faune« to the music of Claude Debussy.

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