In C
Performance information
Voorstellingsinformatie
Choreographer Sasha Waltz about In C
53 stand-alone micro-choreographies come together to form Sasha Waltz’ dance spectacle In C. Since its – digital – premiere in 2021, the work has been performed by both professional and amateur dancers all over the world. Now the dancers of Dutch National Ballet and the Junior Company are also joining this international movement.
Choreographer Sasha Waltz about In C
53 stand-alone micro-choreographies come together to form Sasha Waltz’ dance spectacle In C. Since its – digital – premiere in 2021, the work has been performed by both professional and amateur dancers all over the world. Now the dancers of Dutch National Ballet and the Junior Company are also joining this international movement.
Text: Rosalie Overing
Waltz created In C to Terry Riley's piece of music of the same name from 1964. The choreography follows the structure of the composition, which consists of 53 short musical phrases, or ‘figures’. Both the musicians and the dancers have to start at the first phrase and end with the 53rd, but they can repeat each phrase as often as they like, provided they never get more than a few phrases away from one another. For her dancers, Waltz also added 53 rules for how they should interact with each other and with the space. Keeping to these set phrases and rules, they can then improvise on them. Waltz says, “This makes every performance different, and every dancer is also a choreographer at the same time.”
Pandemic choreography
Sasha Waltz originally created In C with and for her Berlin-based dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests during the second corona lockdown in 2021. Waltz says, “In that period, when you couldn't even breathe in the same room as other people, it was primarily a way to still bring the dancers together. As the work consists of separate fragments of choreography, the dancers could rehearse it individually and at a distance.” However, Waltz soon saw the potential for something bigger. “I envisaged the piece as an international movement. With the 53 choreographic phrases and rules, you invent a language that can be learnt by people of all different ages and cultures, and can therefore create a great sense of belonging. When the music starts, you hear a clear beat, like a heartbeat that connects everyone – performers and audiences alike. And that’s the message: In C connects us all.”
As the dancers and musicians are not allowed to get more than a few phrases away from each other when performing In C, they have to continually take account of one another in their improvisation. The idea that the main role of each individual artist is to serve the greater whole is an important theme for Waltz. “Something I found really powerful during the corona pandemic was the realisation that individual freedom can only be achieved if you take responsibility and contribute to the greater good. For me, this idea is the key to good coexistence, and that’s clearly reflected in In C. In a certain sense, the piece is an exercise in social behaviour.”
Community project
In recent years, with the dancers of Sasha Waltz & Guests as ambassadors, the ‘language’ of In C has been taught to people all over the world, from Georgia to India and from Norway to Mexico. In C has now grown into a community that consists of professional dancers as well as youth groups and amateur companies. “Youth groups dance simplified versions of the original phrases, and amateurs learn a special version of the choreography, performing only some of the phrases”, Waltz explains. “Exactly which version of the work is used is determined by the ambassadors teaching it to the groups. They look at the extent to which a group is able to perform the choreography and follow the rules. This means that In C can be danced by anyone.”
Sasha Waltz
Sasha Waltz (Karlsruhe, 1963) is a choreographer, dancer, and director. In 1993, she co-founded the company Sasha Waltz & Guests together with Jochen Sandig, through which she develops innovative and challenging productions within choreographic music theatre. Waltz has received numerous awards, inclu-ding the Deutscher Tanzpreis and the Helmut Schmidt Future Prize. In 2011, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and in 2021, she was named a Commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Ambassadors talk about In C
Alessandra Defazio and Sebastian Abarbanell are the ambassadors who have taught Waltz’ In C to the dancers of Dutch National Ballet and the Junior Company, as well as to eight dance captains, who in turn taught more than 120 amateur dancers from all the districts of Amsterdam (see Let Amsterdam Dance).
Ambassadors talk about In C
Alessandra Defazio and Sebastian Abarbanell are the ambassadors who have taught Waltz’ In C to the dancers of Dutch National Ballet and the Junior Company, as well as to eight dance captains, who in turn taught more than 120 amateur dancers from all the districts of Amsterdam (see Let Amsterdam Dance).
Text: Astrid van Leeuwen
Alessandra Defazio:
“For Sasha, the keyword is connection. That was the case when her dancers were at home during the corona pandemic, and it’s still the case. By turning In C into a community project, we’ve brought together dancers of all cultures, ages and backgrounds in, for example, Kharkiv in Ukraine, Pune in India, and various Mexican cities, in a sort of big playground, as it were.”
Sebastian Abarbanell:
“If we all go our own individual ways and only follow our own ideas, we don’t find ways of living together in harmony. In C has therefore become a wonderful symbol for the connection that’s so necessary in our society. As an individual, you have to feel the responsibility to contribute to the group or community. You have to listen to one another in order to be able to create something beautiful together.”
Let Amsterdam Dance
This season, In C is not only being danced by Dutch National Ballet and the Junior Company. Earlier this month, a unique version of Sasha Waltz’ dance spectacle was also presented by groups of residents from all seven districts of Amsterdam and from Weesp. More than 120 (!) dancers of all ages and backgrounds (dance or otherwise) took part in Let Amsterdam Dance, Dutch National Ballet’s biggest participation project ever.
Let Amsterdam Dance
This season, In C is not only being danced by Dutch National Ballet and the Junior Company. Earlier this month, a unique version of Sasha Waltz’ dance spectacle was also presented by groups of residents from all seven districts of Amsterdam and from Weesp. More than 120 (!) dancers of all ages and backgrounds (dance or otherwise) took part in Let Amsterdam Dance, Dutch National Ballet’s biggest participation project ever.
For the occasion of Amsterdam 750, Dutch National Ballet brought people from all over the city together in Let Amsterdam Dance. Led by artistic coordinator Didy Veltman and eight dance captains, residents of the Amsterdam districts and Weesp each learned a section of In C. Everyone was welcome to join in – from young to old, and regardless of dance experience. The Centrum group, for instance, comprised dancers from Dance Connects, which connects people aged 50 to 100+ through dance, while in the Oost district members of the student dance association AmsterDance took part, and in the West district dancers from the Anatolian Dance Academy mastered a section of the work.
From performing on location to grand finale
Between 25 and 31 May, each group first presented its section of In C at a free festive performance in its own district, at which other local artists and Dutch National Ballet’s Junior Company also appeared. Then on 15 June, all the groups came together for a grand finale performance on the stage of Dutch National Opera & Ballet, with musical accompaniment from Dutch Ballet Orchestra and a student ensemble from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
Wild card
In order to involve more people in Let Amsterdam Dance, Dutch National Ballet launched a dance challenge on Instagram and TikTok, whereby participants could win a wild card to take part in the dancing at the collective performance on 15 June. To enter, the participants shared a video online in which they performed a dance phrase from In C. In the end, five talented dancers won a wild card.
Giving and taking space
In performing In C, the dancers get plenty of individual freedom, but at the same time they are responsible for staying connected to the group. Waltz’ dance creation is thus a perfect match for the central theme of Let Amsterdam Dance: sharing space. Because how do you choose your spot without taking up someone else’s space?
In C: a piece of music on one sheet of A4
The starting point for Sasha Waltz’ In C is the piece of music of the same name by the American composer Terry Riley, from 1964. His revolutionary composition, which is regarded as the ‘Big Bang of minimal music’, comprises 53 short musical phrases in C major, and the whole work fits on just one sheet of A4.
Main sponsor Nationale Opera & Ballet
