Like Versuch über das Sterben (Attempt on Dying), Boris Nikitin’s new work 24 Bilder pro Sekunde (24 frames per second) is based on his reflections on vulnerability, not as a shortcoming, but as an ability. This time he swaps words for music and dance. When bodies are no longer under control, motion becomes random. With gestures that have no meaning, and twitching that represents nothing. A form of resistance against human beings as thinking machines. Six dancers of different backgrounds and physical disposition perform an imperceptible transition from everyday gestures to abstraction. The renowned Kukuruz Quartet structures the space with Julius Eastman’s Gay Guerilla for four pianos, a lesser-known yet notable composition of the 20th century. Delicate ramifications and drifting sound carpets burst through as pulse generators for the dancers’ movements. The dissolve of video projections references the spectral and the ghostly. A crescendo of exertion.
- Artistic Team
Concept, Direction Boris Nikitin in collaboration with Kukuruz Quartett With music by Julius Eastman, Gay Guerilla, Boris Nikitin, Sacre, Kukuruz Quartett, Medley interpreted by Kukuruz Quartett Sound Design Adolfina Fuck Video Georg Lendorff, Federico Neri Choreographic collaboration, Costume Lee Méir Stage Johannes Maas, Annett Hardegen, Boris Nikitin Lights, Technical Direction Benjamin Hauser With Akiles, Eli Cohen, Dessa Ganda, Renen Itzhaki, Natascha Moschini, Josefine Mühle Production Management Annett Hardegen
- Production
Production It’s The Real Thing Studios (Basel) Coproduction Wiener Festwochen, Kaserne Basel, Gessnerallee Zürich Funded from the three-year grant of the Theatre/Dance Expert Committee of the Cantons of Basel-Land and Basel-Stadt Supported by Pro Helvetia, Schweizer Kulturstiftung, Stanley Thomas Johnson Stiftung, Jacqueline Spengler Stiftung, Fondation Nestlé pour l’Art, Schweizerische Interpretenstiftung SIS, Ernst Göhner Stiftung
Premiere February 2020, Kaserne Basel
