Duet, Duet_Photo by Neil Wissink
Duet, Duet (2010)
Duet, Duet is Matthias Sperling's choreographic response to celebrated composer George Benjamin's Viola, Viola – a fiery and exhilarating piece for two solo violas. Created to mark the composer's fiftieth birthday celebrations at Southbank's Queen Elizabeth Hall, this double duet is danced by Matthias Sperling and Rachel Krische alongside violists Paul Silverthorne and Eniko Magyar. The work reflects on how our individual, momentary perception of the music is already an embodiment of it, a physical event in the brain. Endeavouring to make this perception visible, the choreographic score is a densely structured series of tasks that map out a journey allowing the performers to involve their present experience as a material. Like the violists, the dancers are engrossed in closely braided relationships, negotiating a tension between shared and individual consciousness.
Commissioned by Southbank Centre (London, UK) with support from Laban Theatre and Yorkshire Dance.
Performances: 7 February, 2010, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London, UK
Related:
Read an interview with Matthias Sperling about Duet, Duet on londondance.com LINK