Description
Meta | Mor | Phos – a triadic fiction is a sequel to Oskar Schlemmer’s 1922 Triadic Ballet, an icon of dance and performance art. Schlemmer’s ballet oriented itself towards a man-machine symbiosis. Meta | Mor | Phos redirects itsef to an existential connection to the the natural world through the metamorphosis of insects. Structured in three parts (larva, pupa, imago) with a prologue and epilogue, the 45-minute work reimagines Schlemmer’s classic for the 21st century.
Hedwig Dances and the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation co-produced Meta | Mor | Phos, which was created for the 100th anniversary of the Triadic Ballet. Meta | Mor | Phos is choreographed by Hedwig Dances’ artistic director Jan Bartoszek, with dramaturgy by Bauhaus Research Associate Torsten Blume. The dance features authentic reproductions of costumes designed by Bauhaus artist and stage director Oskar Schlemmer, as well as newly designed costumes by Torsten Blume and Chicago artist Jacky Kelsey, fabricated by the Chicago Puppet Studio (a program of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival). Patricia Taxxon composed the score, with additional music and sound design by Richard Woodbury.
Production
CHOREOGRAPHER
Jan Bartoszek
DRAMATURG
Torsten Blume
COMPOSER – ORIGINAL SCORE
Patricia Taxxon
ADDITIONAL MUSIC COMPOSITION and SOUND DESIGN
Richard Woodbury
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Michael Reed
COSTUMES
Authentic Triadic Ballet Costumes designed by Oskar Schlemmer provided by Bauhaus Foundation, Dessau, Germany
“Other” Costume design by Torsten Blume
All other costumes designed by Jacky Kelsey with fabrication by Chicago Puppet Studio of the Chicago International Puppet Theatre
Cast
DANCERS
Ciara Borg
Olivia Gonzalez
Jessie Gutierrez
Jesse Hoisington
Hannah Marcus
Rigoberto Saura
Performance(s)
Meta | Mor | Phos received critical acclaim for its historical world premiere at the Bauhausfest 2022 in the state-of-the-art Bauhaus Museum in Dessau, where the company performed before sold-out audiences, followed by its two weekend U.S. premiere at the Ruth Page Center in 2023.
"Meta | Mor | Phos" is an experimental arrangement and practice model of human transformation.
— Christel Sperlich, Neues Deutschland-Berlin