Body without Organs

A »body without organs« is what the theater avant-gardist Antonin Artaud called for at the beginning of the 20th century, evoking forces that are meant to break aesthetic conventions and social norms. But is an avant-garde conceivable without the background of the tradition it abandons? Based on these considerations, Richard Siegal develops an almost dialectical choreography for Ballet of Difference in which strictly composed forms and their dissolution interpenetrate. For this, the US choreographer draws inspiration from a work he created in 2016 for the Sao Paulo Dance Company in Brazil: six pieces by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau, which formed the musical basis of the choreography at the time, are now expanded by new electro-acoustic compositions by Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch. The latter decomposes and overwrites the formal strictness of Rameau and, in combination with Richard Siegal's choreography, unleashes the unconscious potentials of the Baroque. The perfect starting point, then, for an evening of dance that opens up completely new perspectives on Richard Siegal's company: Between matter and form, between ballet codes and their deconstruction, BODY WITHOUT ORGANS shows the Ballet of Difference from its delicate and fragile side.