Expansion of the moment (2016)

EXPANSION OF THE MOMENT

performance 4:40 min

THE PRINCIPLES OF GRETE WIESENTHAL

In 2016 I was invited by Rose Breuss to participate in the lecture-performance "Expansion of the moment" within a Dance Symposium "Expansion of the moment: Aufforderungen zum Tanz" at the Anton Bruckner University in Linz.

"Expansion of the Moment" deals with two different choreographic and performative ways of approaching the waltz: on the one hand the waltzes of the Wiesenthal sisters characterized as 'dialect of Viennese modernism', and on the other hand the Le Specter de la Rose, which is called 'waltz reminiscence', by choreographer Michel Fokine for the legendary dancer Wazlaw Nijinsky. Spheroid (choreography: Rose Breuss, music: Franz Hautzinger) is a contemporary commentary on the dances of the Wiesenthal sisters. Together with her sisters Elsa and Berta, Grete Wiesenthal initiated an innovative approach to the rhythm and musicality of the Viennese waltzes - characterized by an ecstatic swing and turning technique. The Wiesenthals' success is based on performances that caused a sensation, especially among artists, during the Vienna Secession; the natural, clearly defined linearity of her dances had a special affinity for the secessionist style.
The movement vocabulary of Le Specter de la Rose is also about possible connections between ecstasy and lines, it is about reshaping and alienating waltz traditions. And as in the Wiesenthal dances, the design of atmosphere is the focus of the choreographic and dance discussion.

My task was to re-construct the principles of Grete Wiesenthal: spheric head, particular rhythm of swings and turns, integrating them within my contemporary improvisation strategies.

Concept, lecture: Rose Breuss, Claudia Jeschke
Dance: Rainer Krenstetter, Dorota Łęcka (Martyna Lorenc)
Performed at: "Expansion of the moment: Aufforderungen zum Tanz" Dance Symposium January 2016