Tanz Fever: Vienna’s Dance Festival
Delirious Night: mette ingvartsen Captures teh Fever of Crisis
Table of Contents
A Frenetic Ensemble Inspired by Strasbourg’s 1518 Dance Epidemic
Mette Ingvartsen’s Delirious Night, presented at the Akademietheater, offers a stark contrast to the introspective solo pieces of Guerrieri and Kaklea. This frenetic ensemble work draws it’s inspiration from the peculiar “dance epidemic” that gripped Strasbourg in 1518, a historical event where individuals were compelled to dance for weeks on end, some until death. Ingvartsen masterfully captures the spirit of this historical hysteria, translating it into a contemporary commentary on our own times.
The Echoes of Hysteria: from 1518 to the covid Era
A banner on stage,proclaiming ”Attitudes Passionelles,” hints at the underlying theme. However, the febrile atmosphere Ingvartsen conjures resonates deeply with the anxieties of the Covid era. It speaks to the peculiar blend of collective unity and pervasive fear, the sense of dissociation alongside division, the undercurrent of protest, and the nascent potential for rebuilding that characterized recent years. The stage becomes a canvas for bodies yearning for connection, oscillating between the communal warmth of a campfire shindig and the chaotic energy of an unruly protest. The recurring refrain, “How can I resist? I want to resist,” encapsulates this complex emotional landscape.
Masks, Rhythms, and the Unpredictable Night
The dancers in Delirious night are adorned with a diverse array of masks – from the playful to the menacing, including Halloween and wrestling masks, and even beastly visages reminiscent of Chewbacca. Many are topless, using their own bodies to create percussive rhythms. There is no single leader; the performers navigate their paths with a freestyle abandon, and only occasionally do some of the nine individuals synchronize their movements. ingvartsen expertly captures that disorienting feeling of being out late, encountering passing revellers whose intentions remain ambiguous – are they jubilant or malevolent?
A Feverish Score and the Weariness of Crisis
The piece is propelled by the feverish score of drummer Will Guthrie, which imbues the movement with an increasingly jagged and incantatory quality. As the dancers weary, grouping together and questioning their ability to continue, a palpable sense of exhaustion sets in. The atmosphere shifts towards a directionless,end-of-the-night state,where the hangover seems to arrive even before the sleep.Ingvartsen’s stated aim was to explore “what living in times of crisis does to our bodies,” and the result is a potent mix of adrenaline and bleakness,though perhaps not as precisely articulated as in Make It Count.
Seeking Release in a City That Never Sleeps
Ultimately, Ingvartsen’s dancers are in search of release, a transformative state. This quest is mirrored in the broader context of the festival,which caters to night owls with its late show times and after-hours parties. one evening, crossing the Danube, the sight of couples swaying on a makeshift stage by the water serves as a poignant reminder: this is a city that never truly sleeps, because it simply keeps dancing. The desire for connection and expression, even in the face of overwhelming circumstances, is a powerful, enduring force.