Abstract
«It is with true love as with ghosts. Everyone talks of it, but few have seen it», said French moralist La Rochefoucauld in the 17th century. Still today, many people long for the perfect love, but only the very few enjoy it. In Balcão de Amor, a three-part ballet evening, three renowned choreographers delve into the secrets of love.
This production marks the first time that Norwegian choreographer Jo Strømgren works with Ballett Zürich. He is the principal choreographer of the Norwegian National Ballet and has toured as a guest to over fifty countries with his own «Jo Strømgren Kompani». His work reveals itself to be a highly original combination of dance, drama, and puppetry. He loves pushing boundaries, provoking, and entertaining – and occasionally eliciting laughter that’s quickly swallowed. Jo Strømgren wants to surprise audiences with a mixture of Latin American magic realism, eastern European melancholy, and the strange humor of the North.
Following up on his successful collaboration with the Junior Ballett in 2017, Louis Stiens returns to Zurich. Alongside his career as a dancer with The Stuttgart Ballett, this native of Munich has spent the last few years making a name for himself as a choreographer. Together with Estonian-born DJane and sound artist Anni Nöps, he’s developing a glittering end-of-days scenario.
The title for this colorfully varied evening comes from the third piece on the program: Itzik Galili was inspired by the timeless music of mambo king Pérez Prado while on a trip to the Caribbean. In his pulsing O Balcão de Amor, which he is slightly adapting for Ballett Zürich, the Israeli-born choreographer lets the sparks fly in a mixture of humor, madness, and sizzling eroticism.