DESCENT※ASCENT
“One must descend into the depths to recover the light hidden there.
The ascent is born inside the descent.”
Première: 18 February 2027
ODEON Zwolle
Concept, choreography, light, decor & costume designs: Samir Calixto
Music: Pēteris Vásks, played live by Cello Octet Amsterdam
Dance: Of Curious Nature (DE)
DESCENT※ASCENT is a co-production between Matter Affects, Cello Octet Amsterdam, Of Curious Nature (DE), Zwolse Theaters, Schouwburg De Lawei and Steptext Dance Project (DE)
Supported by Fonds Podiumkunsten, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Gemeente Zwolle, Provincie Overijssel, Senator für Kultur Bremen and Karin und Uwe Hollweg Stiftung Bremen.
©Samir Calixto
DESCENT※ASCENT
What role can art play in addressing the growing confusion and sense of disorientation in our times? Brazilian choreographer Samir Calixto answers this question by creating performances that take a step back, seeking a broader perspective that reveals the bigger picture and deeper connections. It is an approach that offers hope and comfort, but also highlights the responsibilities that this interconnectedness entails.
In the performance SUMMA, which he created in 2018 in collaboration with the Cello Octet Amsterdam, based on compositions by Arvo Pärt, he took stock of a world that had lost its balance. Nine years later, the collaboration continues with a performance set to music by another Baltic composer, the Latvian-born Pēteris Vasks, who is regarded as one of the most influential and acclaimed European contemporary composers. Vásks’ compositions form a musical reflection on the dynamics of opposing forces, such as the eternal repetition of the tides or the unstoppable oscillation between higher and lower, the sacred and the secular, good and evil. Precisely in a world that is becoming increasingly polarised, it is important to approach contradictions with nuance.
For DESCENT※ASCENT, the eight cellists of the Cello Octet Amsterdam will share the stage with dancers from the prestigious German dance company Of Curious Nature, for whom Calixto has previously created successful pieces. It is a work in which the fusion of disciplines offers the audience the experience of a ritual, a collective encounter in which audience and performers are one and attempt to reconcile their own human paradoxes with one another.