The first creative encounter of four diverse artistic individuals – director and visual artist Jan Komárek, dancer Karolína Hejnová, acrobat Sebastian Belmar and dancer and choreographer Andrea Miltnerová, loosely based on Jan Švankmajer’s film of the same name.

A distinctive language of gesture and an expressive language of the body create a sensitive structure blending action and reaction, where the logic of movement succumbs to the instinct and ability of the experienced performers, whilst the actual story is concealed at an enigmatic though emotionally comprehensible level.

Through variations in rhythm and the repetition of individual variations the choreography becomes a visual animation of notation, where the movement itself creates the music.

This project was created in frame of Studio ALTA residency programme.

“Every gesture is precise, frozen in time. They seem like verbal responses and cessations of the movement; they seem like a full stop at the end of a sentence. It is perceptible from the gestures that both partners actually perform a monologue, which is not completely comprehended by the other one. They don´t want to understand and sometimes they don´t pay attention to each other at all. Nevertheless, they repeatedly try to put the process through. Tempo and dynamics of the gestures change and a silent musical expression arises. The dialogue begins to develop by a table; the solo dance sequences are like screams into the void. An unheard desire for understanding and bonding. Everybody vainly calls for somebody, but nobody wants to understand the other one. Partners don´t come together and in this case they don´t even touch each other. (…)” Marcela Benoniová, Taneční aktuality

Direction, light and sound design: Jan Komárek

Performed by: Karolína Hejnová, Sebastian Belmar

Movement cooperation: Andrea Miltnerová

Produced by: ME-SA/ Karolína Hejnová

Coproduction: ALT@RT

Supported by: MHMP, MKČR, Nadace život umělce, ALT@RT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkabQO5jM50&feature=youtu.be