Mont Ventoux
The FAM Festival (Arts and Movement Festival) presents Mont Ventoux by Kor'sia in the Auditorio de Tenerife. This piece was awarded the prestigious Fedora - Van Cleef & Arpels prize in 2023.
Inspired by Francesco Petrarch's (1304-1374) Ascent of Mont Ventoux, the KOR'SIA Collective seeks answers from the humanist past to the conflicts being proposed to us by a 1304st-century paradigm shift: the construction of an individual capable of rebuilding themselves and the planet. Everything is overcome by obstinate work.
With Mount Ventoux, the collective revisits the work written by Francesco Petrarch in 1336, which appears to be nothing more than a letter recounting the ascent to a mountain on any April afternoon. Cunningly describing the ascent as the simplest of accounts, Petrarch offers an alternative to the faith of the world, an ascending journey for humanity to elude and leave behind the dark years of the Middle Ages, bringing about a paradigm shift for the world to come: humanism.
As the Kor'sia Collective perceives it, this story still offers us the possibility of learning from a past that can be transformed into a better experience of the present and, therefore, into constructing a better future for all.
Those of us co-existing today on the planet seven centuries later live life much more quickly, at a pace that is typical of these modern times. We also perceive the urgent need for change. The collective believes that we are witnessing the destabilisation of the structures that, until now, have supported us as a community and as humanity, and we are seeing the transformation of an all too uncertain future. Petrarch already warned us of this, saying that we must awaken from our lethargy and free ourselves of the moulds in which we have set. With this mantra, the Kor'sia Collective wants to collaborate in giving voice once again to these words that have gained new relevance today: climb the mountain, regain our values, and conduct a massive exercise in philanthropy. Focus our attention once again on humanity and the natural world that precedes it. What better way of achieving this than by using human bodies in dance?
Idea and direction: Mattia Russo and Antonio de Rosa
Choreography: Mattia Russo and Antonio de Rosa in collaboration with the performers
Dancers: Benoît Couchot, Angela Dematte, Samuel Dilkes, Emilie Leriche, Helena Olmedo, Andrew Scott, Dovydas, Strimaitis, Ana Van Tendeloo and Edoardo Brovardi
Dramaturgy: Agnès López-Río
Scenography: Ámber Vandenhoeck in collaboration with Mattia Russo and Antonio de Rosa/ Kor ́sia
Original music: Alejandro Da Rocha.
Original song: Raquel Tort Vázquez
Costumes: Creative costume design and direction by Luca Guarini in collaboration with Aitor Goikoetxea, Levi's (all denim)
Production: Gabriel Blanco and Paola Villegas, Andrea Mendez (Spectare)
Technical direction: Meritxell Cabanas
Co-production: Centro de Cultura Contemporánea Condeduque (Spain), Fedora - Van Cleef & Arpels, Premio de Danza 2023 with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels, Festival Grec- Festival de Barcelona (Spain), Festival Roma Europe (Italy), Tanzplattform Rhein Main (Germany), Hessisches Staatsballet (Germany), Festival Bolzano Danza - Haydn Foundation of Bolzano and Trento (Italy), Compañía Tero Saarinen (Finland), OperaEstate Festival Veneto (Italy), The Watermill Center (United States)
With the support of:
INAEM (National Institute of Performing Arts and Music-Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport-Spanish Government), Comunidad de Madrid, Ayuntamiento de Madrid
"Kor'sia sets a new standard with a meticulously crafted and triumphant production, drawing inspiration from Petrarch. This theatrical feat is not just praiseworthy but also unique in its well-coordinated, rhythmic movements that uplift the soul."
Roger Salas for El País
"An infinite greatness expressed in their particular version of "Mont Ventoux". The Kor'sia Collective offers a choreography that updates the radical aspects of Petrarch's ideas. Like Plato in one of his Epistles, it highlights the intimate truth of the face-to-face encounter". Here, the walls are made of glass to turn us into a thing; showcases with a mountain painted on the background, which could very well be the one that obsessed Ce'zanne throughout his life (Mont Sainte-Victoire) or the one drawn 36 times by Katsushika Hokusai. It rises, falls and unfolds itself like each dancer. Between the fog and the present. With the music of a ceaseless wind."
Jaime M. de los Santos for El Confidencial
Mont Ventoux serves as a poignant metaphor for our fast-paced, chaotic lives. Mont Ventoux appears before us clearly and precisely and with relevance to these modern times. The mountain, depicted through a towering stained-glass window, cleverly divides the stage into two realms: one representing the frenetic pace of the city and the other, the serenity of nature and contemplation. Respectively, these realms correspond to the two forms of dance and rhythms of the choreography: frenzied, virtuosic and precise the one, and lyrical, emotive, paused and quasi-neoclassical the other."
Omar Kan for SusyQ magazine
"The dance of the interpreters of Kor'sia stands out for their mastery of motor skills that reach the utmost heights of expressivity. The dancers seem aware of every fibre of every muscle in their bodies. They are driven by rare dynamics and transitions from one movement to the next, resulting in extreme lightness and reactivity. The performance of Kor'sia shines brightly on the stage of the Romaeuropa Festival".
Marta Mele for GBOpera
Notice to the sensitive public: the event includes loud sound passages, use of strobe lights and use of smoke machine.
Access is only allowed to children over five years of age.
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