Seismic

Seismic (2022) ‒ a dance and physical theatre production that places the scenographic construction at its conceptual heart. A piece for four international performers created by choreographer Marie Gourdain (FR) and dance and theatre maker Felix Baumann (DE).

The action takes place on an unstable and fragmented platform, which may tip, shake or break in response to the movements of the protagonists. It constitutes an extremely uncertain base whereupon the characters display themselves, alone, in pairs, or as a group - thereby risking life and limb. The figures encounter challenges in relation to each other, tirelessly navigating through the instability surrounding them, altering their behaviour, provoking risks, endangering balance and control, threatening to lose the ground under their feet. Situations transform from the ordinary to the absurd, from the banal to the metaphorical.

Through dance, humour and scenographic installation, Seismic tells about a relationship of mutual dependence, in which each body is simultaneously exposed to the mechanics of the space and of the other bodies - a permanent transformation of things in a circular and interdependent sense; a power relationship whose origins are blurred in the mix of events.

Concept: Marie Gourdain, Felix Baumann
Choreography and direction: Marie Gourdain, Felix Baumann
Performers: Felix Baumann, Sean Henderson, Till Jenewein, Halka Třešňáková
In collaboration with: Johana Pocková
Dramaturgy consultant: Jakub Režný
Lighting design: Zuzana Režná
Music composer: Thibault Cohade
Music assistant: Lukáš Palán
Costumes: Magdaléna Vrábová
Scenography: Jan Tomšů / in collaboration with Marie Gourdain and Felix Baumann

Production: tYhle, Matière Mobile, Von B bis Z | Baumann&Zöller GbR
Production managers: Sarah Corroyer (FR), Ludmila Šindlerová (CZ), Claudia Teichmann (DE)
Production consultant: Dirk Förster
Coproduction: TANEC PRAHA z.ú. / PONEC – dance venue, LOFFT – DAS THEATER Leipzig (DE), Les SUBS Lyon (FR), CCNR Rilleux-la-pape (FR)
Other partners: Studio ALTA, Schloss Bröllin (DE), MS Schrittmacher (DE)

Special thanks: all the participants of the Seismic LABs, Dirk Förster, Lucia Kašiarová, Lukáš Karásek, Martin Stiefermann, Nicole Nigro, Jonas Zöller, Manfred Mönch, Aziliz Edy, Eva Dryjová, Romana Packová

The project was co-produced by the organisations of tYhle, Matière Mobile and Von B bis Z, Tanec Praha z.ú. / PONEC - dance venue, Les Nouvelles Subsistances,Le CCNR de Rilleux-la-pape, LOFFT – DAS THEATER Leipzig. Supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic, the Czech-German Fund for Future, Prague City Hall, the City of Brno. The project was supported in France by DRAC – Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes – Aide à la création, French Institute, the Metropolis and City of Lyon. The projec was supported in Germany by the NATIONALES PERFORMANCE NETZ Coproduction Fund for Dance, which is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Producers, coproducers and financial partners