LENIO KAKLEA (FR/GR)

In the 1940s, the musical revolutionary John Cage composed pieces for two African-American choreographers: Syvilla Fort (1917–1975) and Pearl Primus (1919–1994). And it was this that led Lenio Kaklea to create her own ‘duet with a pianist’. Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes represents a milestone in avant-garde music. It was written between 1946 and 1948, a few years after he had created Bacchanale, his first work for prepared piano, which was based on a piece by Fort. In 1943, he composed Our Spring Will Come for Primus’ choreography of the same name. This is the story Lenio Kaklea wants to remind us of today: ‘her story’ instead of ‘history’! Kaklea in insistent on this; and, to emphasise the point, the Greek-born choreographer has created a delicately textured, highly detailed solo/ duet. She dances herself – her movements casual at times, angular at others – while dressed in black motorcycle gear and in a red leotard. She uses video to enlarge her image, and incorporates the great pianist Orlando Bass and her own shadow into the performance. This is an attempt to correct historiography through dance – and it succeeds.

Austrian premiere

Organiser and ticket sales: impulstanz