Video Dance Nights

During July 2009, the Dance House Lemesos, aiming to promote the art of modern dance/performace to broad audience, will present thematic video works related to it. The veranda of Dance House Lemesos, with a beautiful view on Limassol Heroes Square, will be hosting three films: “Blush”, ‘zero degree’ and “the Cost of Living”.

In May and June of 2004 Wim Vandekeybus shot a 52-minute feature based on his successful performance Blush. Carried by the music of David Eugene Edwards and Woven Hand and with texts by the Flemish author Peter Verhelst, Blush is a dazzling voyage swinging between the heavenly landscapes of Corsica and the slummiest depths of Brussels. It is an exploration of the savage subconscious, of mythical forests, of conflicting instincts, of imagination, where the body has reasons unknown to the mind. In dance sequences of attraction, confrontation and repulsion the performers take on animal metamorphoses…

‘zero degree’ is an exciting collaboration between Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi. This is an opportunity to see these remarkable artists working with sculptor Antony Gormley and composer Nitin Sawhney. Khan and Larbi first met in 2000 when they quickly discovered strong similarities in their work. Both are sons of Islamic families brought up in Europe, and both draw upon this meeting of cultures, combining complex Indian Kathak dance with the speed and precision of contemporary movements. “zero degrees” was borne out of their longing to create work together, and follows them on a journey to seek the reference point, the source, the '0' at life's core. Inspired by their own dual identities, both of them search for this middle line through polar opposites; birth/death, light/darkness, chaos/order.

The Cost of Living was shot on location in Cromer on the Norfolk coast: a typical, old-fashioned and faded English seaside resort. The summer season has petered to an end. An air of desertion hangs over the town. Eddie and David are disillusioned street performers. Eddie is tough, confrontational and not afraid to defend his belief in justice, respect and honesty. David is a dancer who has no legs (as he is in real life), watching him makes you reconsider accepted notions of grace and perfection. He is quietly determined not to let his disabilities or society's prejudices get in his way. A series of inter-linked scenes show Eddie and David's encounters with other people; some are incredibly hard-hitting, others exhilarating because of their sheer physicality.

These summer evenings are expected to become a regular activity of Dance House Lemesos providing a new possibility for the Limassol public, and not only, to get closer to the new streams of international modern dance/performance. After the films, that do not last too long, will follow the outdoor socializing events…drinks, music and nice company on our big open space balcony. The entrance is free for all.