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In the piece Fugue in two colors Knif returns to explore the expressive power of movement. The piece itself is a study of the ancient relationship between music and dance. In the piece the strict musical form of Dmitri Šostakovitš’s preludes and fugues is juxtaposed with the rambling movement of the dancers.
The piece is based on choreographic scores created with Knif`s methods of improvisation. It is performed by a cast of seven consisting of dancers from both Helsinki Dance Company and Carl Knif Company. The piece focuses on the dancer as a perceiving and sensing being. The relationship between the prelude and fugue, two entities, related but yet different, is a basic characteristic of the choreography. On the other hand the audiovisuality of the piece deliberately breaks the form of the music, a form that Šostakovitš has borrowed from Bach, therefore creating a third generation adaptation of the traditional form.
Fugue in two colors is a study of the enigmatic nature of the concept of performance and performing. The different sections of the venue (the house, the set and the side of the stage) are all spaces of the piece, at the same time they are places shaped by the conventions and traditions of the performing arts. The spaces themselves depict our role in interacting with the performance at hand. Can the performance itself deal with these roles and can dance express our experiences of the different spaces. What do we wish from a performance? What do we need it for? What we experience in Fugue in two colors, is a performance within a performance and the relationship between these two entities. We trace the journey of the work out of its own context towards the viewer. Does a piece really matter? Can it change something in reality?
Choreography: Carl Knif
Dance: Jonna Aaltonen, Jyrki Kasper, Pekka Louhio, Heidi Naakka, Mikko Paloniemi, Terhi Vaimala, Eero Vesterinen
Set and light design: William Iles
Sound design: Janne Hast
Costume design: Karoliina Koiso-Kanttila
Photos: Yoshi Omori
Image processing: Marko Mäkinen
Co-production: Carl Knif Company & Helsinki City Theatre
Premiere: 12.10.2020 at studio Pasila
Duration: 60 min
