Amsterdam Sinfonietta and ISH Dance Collective explore the never-ending cycle of decline and regeneration.
A century ago, T.S. Eliot wrote his legendary poem The Waste Land. It depicts a ruined world, characterized by coercion, indoctrination and oppression. Is there any escape from this, does hope exist? Decades later, one of the greatest Iranian poets of the 20th century Achmed Shamlou sketched a similar scene from a totally different cultural and historical vantage point. The two poets are connected by the music of the Iranian composer Farokhzad Layegh, along with works by Igor Stravinsky, Max Richter and Rik Ronner. The dance almost literally breaks out of the confines of the space, exploding from the ground and climbing up the walls. In this performance portraying the eternal cycle of decline and regeneration, the musicians and dancers challenge each other to extend their own boundaries, using diverse musical styles and dance forms.
