Blackbird / Acid – Bolero

In her dynamic movement language, choreographer Phoebe Jewitt, whose work White Rabbit at Theater Luzern recently attracted considerable attention, explores the primal force of self-elevation—the tension between the relentless pursuit of recognition and the desire for contentment. She draws parallels between the mechanisms of contemporary society and the hierarchies and power games of a Baroque court, shaped by the absurd logic of social ascent. Movement becomes a language of desire, in which bodies, will and power become inexorably entangled.
Set to an original composition by Minouche Ninh Briot, which transforms Baroque forms into a contemporary, fast-paced soundscape, a fascinating, timeless landscape emerges somewhere between the familiar and the alien. It is a world of bitter comedy and grotesque absurdity, where the longing to rise higher appears at once ridiculous and terrifying.

In his new production, Helge Letonja poses, together with the OCN company, the question of a new physical culture of time. He contrasts this with life under pressure and in a state of constant overload, examining the resulting imbalances in the ways bodies relate to one another.
Together with the dancers, Letonja explores the simultaneity of the different rhythms of life and brings them together in a striking combination. The choreography unfolds between the pulsating Acid Techno of contemporary club culture and Maurice Ravel’s famous Boléro, whose gradual crescendo, through the repetition of its musical motif, creates an irresistible pull.
Woven through this music, the choreography foregrounds a radically reduced beat and a primal physical force that together reflect the interplay of life’s forces. Between form and chaos, ordering and unfolding, overcoming and the eternal recurrence of human desires.

Premiere: Th 29.10.26 | 7:30 pm
Fr 30.10.26 | 7:30 pm
Sa 31.10.26 | 7:30 pm
Schwankhalle