ONCE OVER TIME a retrospective: Ashes

“What if dancing were to burn up its passion? Inflame itself and turn to ashes? What if dancing were the remains of a fire, no longer flammable, airborne matter, black in powder form, immediately grey?”   Cristina Caprioli

Tanz im August 2022 dedicates this year's retrospective to the influential choreographer Cristina Caprioli, who has questioned, set in motion and fundamentally expanded the meaning of choreography since the early 1990s. The retrospective is shown at various venues in Berlin and accompanies the festival from beginning to end. Radialsystem hosts Caprioli’s presentation of several works under the title “Ashes”, with focus on the installation work “ASKA”, which will be shown in the hall on all four evenings.

Under the large moveable truss of the installation “ASKA” a wide open space emerges. Dancers slip and slide beneath the shifting ceiling, in rough dialogue with the live electronic music by Yoann Durant. Sometimes a slight breeze will pass you by, or else a lighthouse will blind you from afar. Perhaps you’ll find yourself lost at sea or walking on a foreign planet. On Friday, audiences are invited to stay late for the one-time-only towel-flipping performance “Once Over Time”, followed by the immersive concert “Until Midnight” with visuals and soundscapes by Asher Tuil. On Saturday, in the side hall, a flock of dancers perform “Always Sometimes”, a piece in the making, madly in love with repetition.