Opening speech for RADIALSYSTEM.V.

...It is time that we recognise: The Arts, visual and auditory, have changed in the last decades. As vital as it is to retain Opera as Opera, Acting as Acting, Dance as Dance, the Exhibition as Exhibition, the Concert as Concert – often the most exciting, enlightening events that arise in Performance, Image and Sound these days, together seek forms which transgress the boundaries of the holy species and media. Perhaps due to plain enchantment we have not understood: The beautiful and the daring that we were able to see in the united city (whether from here or imported), came to be through the interplay of the Arts. Some examples: Christoph Marthaler with “Murx den Europäer ab”, Alain Platel’s “Iets op Bach” (…). In “D‘avant” two dancers from Sasha Waltz’ Berlin troupe join with Alain Platel’s Gent Troupe to make a piece where the only sound consists of the marvellous a cappella singing of the four dancers. And only in these last weeks at the Sophiensaele, Nico and the Navigators gave an account of modern loneliness in counterpoint to Schubert’s music of loss (…) The words “group” or “troupe” appear again and again in my speech. Such ad hoc “groups” or permanent “troupes” signify that not only the art has changed but the production methods also. How variously and yet how similarly have the works of which I speak transpired! Beginning with Wilson thirty-five years ago. (…) And today? “D‘avant“ has no choreographer – it is a unique dance/music collaborative action by four non-interchangeable persons. (…). Nico’s “Wo du nicht bist” (dort ist das Glück) has no author, no director, who before the start of rehearsal specifies each action to the players. The work method is called and is “Conducted Improvisation” - a group development in almost mimic gestures, in French, Japanese, Dutch, German, English interaction, which we unravel little by little. Such work practices are contemporary. Often this teamwork resembles the small Research and Development groups arose with the computer avant-garde in Silicon Valley. And always they resemble the historic, creative forms of European Theatre (Commedia dell‘Arte through Shakespeare to Molière’s companies) which was a Theatre of troupes. (…) The single identifiable author of “Wo du nicht bist” is Franz Schubert.