Florentina Holzinger’s performance A Divine Comedy catapults the world-famous work of the same name by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri right into the present. For her own version of the story, the exceptional choreographer condenses the three parts of the original – hell, purgatory and paradise – to create heaven and hell in the here and now, and set them in motion. Blurring the distinctions that are so deeply rooted in our culture, she brings an all-female cast of performers of all ages and with a mixed background in various physical, musical and dancing disciplines to the stage to explore the human dimensions of life and death.
In a spectacular performance, Holzinger devises her own Divine Comedy, journeying through European choreography together with an ensemble spanning seven decades in search of connections between generations and the roots of the images and fantasies of death in our culture. Holzinger does not shy away from placing death itself on the dissecting table, creating an experimental field of extremes upon which she practises dances of death as exercises in dying that refer to death but mean life. How can you represent what cannot be imagined? The performers‘ bodies are the site of metaphysical and anatomical explorations to find a way. In the process, traditions of dance, music and literary history transform into the choreographer’s own creative material. High culture is used as a treasure trove and a rich source of entertainment including stunts, motocross and hypnosis. Holzinger populates her own afterlife with the faults and fears of our time and asks no lesser question than whether spirituality is possible in the 21st century.
No upcoming shows
07.10.2023
Les Halles de Schaerbeek
Brussels (BE)
18.06.2023
Dark Mofo
Hobart (AU)
17.06.2023
Dark Mofo
Hobart (AU)
16.06.2023
Dark Mofo
Hobart (AU)
04.04.2023
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg Platz
Berlin (DE)
03.04.2023
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg Platz
Berlin (DE)
05.11.2022
Ludwigshafen (DE)
28.08.2022
Kampangel - Sommerfestival
Hamburg (DE)
27.08.2022
Kampangel - Sommerfestival
Hamburg (DE)
26.08.2022
Kampangel - Sommerfestival
Hamburg (DE)
08.07.2022
Staatstheater Kassel - Schauspielhaus
Kassel (DE)
