Colours – this name was chosen wisely by Eric Gauthier, the artist director of the festival and director of Gauthier Dance who came up with the idea and concept of the festival. All the different colours represent diversity and a huge variety of meanings. A great name for a dance festival that has the goal of bringing all kind of people and dance companies together and of stirring this huge crowd only to watch the audience performing with the professional dancers (as seen on the pre-opening event on the Marktplatz or in the different workshops) and thus add another colour to the big picture.

I was lucky enough to see three amazing performances of very different dance companies at Colours International Dance Festival 2015. I started with “Kamuyot” from star choreographer Ohad Naharin, performed by Gauthier Dance/Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart.

Photo credit: Regina Brocke

If you want to put all the ideas of Colours International Dance Festival 2015 into one play, you would end up with Kamuyot. Performed in the gymnasium of the Theaterhaus the atmosphere was very relaxing and easy. At the beginning, the dancers sat among the audience, you could even chat with them. When the music started, the fireworks began. Ranging from classical to raggae and Asian pop, the variety couldn’t have been more colourful. And when the dancers started to invite members of the audience on stage to join them, it became obvious that dance is truly for everybody, no matter how old you are or what language you speak

Photo credit: Regina Brocke

The second show I saw at Colours International Dance Festival 2015 was “Milonga” by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui/Sadler’s Wells. And that night, it was tango time.

Photo credit: Tristram Kenton

I didn’t know much about tango before but I was thrilled. What a show! What a dance! The play showed how different tango styles can be performed by telling the tales of different couples. Once, it was fast and breathtaking, then calm and romantic. One couple was cheeky, the next one sad. Once, you watched two young people fall in love, in the next scene you were in the middle of a fight only to witness a tragic break up a few minutes later. And the music, played by an original Argentine tango band live on stage, did the rest. Did I already mention that I was thrilled?!

Photo credit: Tristram Kenton

I had decided to see a funny show, too. That’s how I got myself right into “Blue Love”, a physical theatre comedy by Shaun Parker. The evening started with the two actors handing out popcorn and free beer to the audience. Sweet!   In “Blue Love”, the fictive couple of Glenn and Rhonda Flune tells the audience about their love story, backed-up by home made films.

Photo credit: Prue Upton

However, their relationship isn’t as perfect as they want it to be and they find themselves right in the middle of a huge fight, conducting their marital dispute in quotations from pop songs: “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden, “ says Glenn and Rhonda answers “Love is a battlefield”. I could have watched their pop song fight forever. Soooo funny!

Photo credit: Prue Upton

What a festival! What a colourful variety and selection of performing companies! I really hope that Colours will be held in Stuttgart again next year. And the year after. And  the year after that and…

More information about:

Colours – International Dance Festival

The post World class dance companies at Colours International Dance Festival 2015 appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

I am lucky because I have the best mother-in-law you could think of, who had organized two tickets for Alice, the newest production of Gauthier Dance. (Thank you again, Barbara!)

We started the evening in the restaurant in front of Theaterhaus Stuttgart with some drinks before we entered Alice’s crazy and fascinating world…

You all know Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, right? And yes, it counts if you haven’t read the book but seen one of the movies . Quick summary: Girl falls into rabbit hole, keeps shrinking and growing , meets lot’s of unusual creatures, has a cup of tea and plays some croquet – nothing unusual…

The interpretation of choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti introduces the audience and the two Alices (yep, there are two of them) to the fascinating, scary, beautiful, crazy, mind-blowing world of the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat and many other otherworldly creatures. In the first few minutes you keep wondering what this is, why Alice consist of tall and adventurous Alice (Anna Süheyla Harms) and small and serious Alice (Garazi Perez Oloriz – who looks a lot like Carrie from Sex and the city, what made the whole experience even more outlandish ), but after a few minutes you allow yourself to drop into this strange world like Alice into the rabbit hole and all the nonsense suddenly… makes sense.

Alice and Alice

Picture: Regina Brocke

The Mad Hatter

Picture: Regina Brocke

The Tea Party

Picture: Regina Brocke

The performances are accompanied on stage by life music from Antongiulio Galeandro, Enza Pagliara and the group ASSURD (Cristina Vetrone, Enza Prestia and Lorella Monti).

Amazing show, great artists, songs that touch your soul – if you get the chance, get tickets and go see Alice! And if you have a spare one – take me with you!

Next performances: 9. – 13. July 2014.

More information about:

Gauthier Dance at Theaterhaus Stuttgart

ASSURD

The post If you like ballet, go see ALICE! by Gauthier Dance appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.