In this choreographic concert at the Argentina Theatre, part of the REF, based on Max Richter's 2012 reinterpretation of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, the boundaries between music and dance dissolve, through a score that doesn't rewrite the original, but fragments and reassembles it, amplifying the perception of time and memory. Just as the seasons change and return, so too can classics be transformed through a new reading.
The music is performed entirely from memory by the BRYGGEN musicians, led by violinist Jolente De Maeyer, who move freely across the stage like a collective organism, in continuous, hypnotic trajectories. Among them is a lone dancer, constantly engaging with the music: sometimes contradicting it, sometimes pushing it to new intensities. The choreographer Michiel Vandevelde thus translates Richter's compositional logic into movement, building an ideal bridge between the baroque and the contemporary, between repetition and variation.
In the show, each season is linked to a genealogy of dance – from Isadora Duncan to Pina Bausch – while Didem Coskunseven’s electronic prologue and epilogue metaphorically frame the cycle as a ritual of birth, death, and rebirth.
By moving through the space and performing from memory, both dancers and musicians challenge the typical conventions of the concert. What emerges is a shared exploration of how classical works can be reimagined, viewing them not as static monuments, but as immersive experiences capable of reinventing the concert as a living, physical, and ever-changing space.
A highly prolific classically trained artist, having completed studies alongside Luciano Berio, from his debut with "Memoryhouse" in 2002 to his latest work, "In A Landscape" of 2024, Max Richter has composed music for orchestra, solo piano, film, and ballet.
With Max Richter – Didem Coskunseven Michiel Vandevelde – Jolente De Maeyer BRYGGEN – Bruges Strings
Choreography, concept, set design, lighting design Michiel Vandevelde
Concept, musical direction, solo violin Jolente De Maeyer
Dance: Amanda Barrio Charmeloo Sophia Dinkel
Photo: official poster of the show
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