2017: Bolero. Tanz der Feuertaube
With her latest creation 'Bolero. Dance of the Fire Dove', artistic director Brigitta Luisa Merki once again sets unusual accents. This production captivates with the dance company 'Flamencos en route' and the Swiss music ensemble CHAARTS.
The source of inspiration for the project 'Bolero: Dance of the Fire Dove' were poems from the early work of the writer Silja Walter. Dance and the fire dove are omnipresent in her oeuvre and her personal, lifelong connection to Susana, the legendary Spanish dancer.
| Artistic director: | Brigitta Luisa Merki |
| Tanzcompagnie Flamencos en route: | Dance: Eloy Aguilar Natalia Alcalá Iván Amaya Mohamed Benchegra Carmen Coy Cristina San Gregorio Carmen Iglesias Ricardo Moro Karima Nayt Jesús Perona Guitar: Juan Gomez Pascual de Lorca Singer: Karima Nayt Vicente Gelo |
| Music ensemble CHAARTS: | Arta Arnicane, piano Ronny Spiegel, violin Felix Froschhammer, violin Flavia Grubenmann, violin Markus Fleck, viola Andreas Fleck, cello, Leitung Fabio di Casola, clarinet Klaasje Nieuwhof, flute Matej Varga, bass |
| Mural: | Maja Hürst |
| Costumes: | Carmen Perez Mateos |
| Light: | Karl Egli |
| Audio: | Amadis Brugnoni, audiopool |
| Producer: | Pitt Hartmeier |
| Dramaturgy: | Christoph A. Schenker |
| Technique: | Michal Haditsch Nörbs Locher Esther Rast Willy Rogger Daniel Schafer Roman Sonderegger Nik Tobler Hansueli Trüb |
| Production assistant: | Daria Reimann |
| Photos: | Alex Spichale |
| Diagram: | Urs Wiezel |
| Managing director, head of Communications: | Judith Vögele |
Download high-res press images here.
Brugger Neujahrsblätter 2018
10 years tanz&kunst königsfelden
Crossing Boundaries in Search of New Territory
Brigitta Luisa Merki proceeds like a gentle, but powerful revolutionary as she confronts her very own language, the flamenco, with other forms of art and different cultures to understand the soul of the flamenco even better. With a lot of license, a comprehensive knowledge of literature, music and painting, and - most of all - with a whole-heartedness that has become rare in the arts, she expands the flamenco far beyond its apparent limits. In doing so, Merki is not only very eloquent in her own language, but in so many other dance languages spanning the gamut from ballet to modern dance.
Merki's search for new forms of art leads her away from the pursuit of virtuosic effects and to new forms of performing arts and total works of art; and it makes no difference whether she tells us a mythological story in its entirety in one evening or whether she presents her intelligently chosen topic with pictures and portraits full of unambiguous, suggestive power. She works with strong, idiosyncratic people, who add various shades of color to her productions.
The choreographer began to cross boundaries in search of new territory long before many an important representative of the New Flamenco in Spain did. The organic, elegant, and confrontational way in which she expands the traditional elements of the flamenco requires a thorough understanding of its forms, steps, and structures. Merki's flamenco productions always showcase her thoughtful reflections on the art of flamenco. There is no better source of information than Merki's works to learn about the richness of Spain's art and history.
However, Brigitta Luisa Merki's productions stand apart mostly due to the veracity of their art: They never only scratch the pretty surface level, but reveal hidden dialogues instead, dialogues that exist between the eras and cultures; between the words, images, music and their art, i.e. dance. Following her intuitions, Merki alters her art, which she loves, without ever breaking with its traditions or forgetting them altogether.
By Angela Reinhardt, Dance Journalist, Stuttgart, October 2017
A Worthy Counterpart
I have great admiration for Brigitta Luisa Merki as an artist. Her work, her accomplishments - both artistic and organizational - her knowledge, her passion, her „readiness to fight," and her radicalness cannot be appreciated enough. With accomplishments going far beyond the flamenco, Merki has always been and still is a worthy counterpart to me, the Ballet Director and Choreographer. Thank you.
Martin Schläpfer, Chief Choreographer and Artistic Director, Ballett am Rhein (Ballet on the Rhine) Düsseldorf Duisburg.
In 2015, the renowned, award-winning Swiss Choreographer Martin Schläpfer invited Brigitta Luisa Merki and Flamencos en route to the Ballett am Rhein. In a production titled «Adónde vas, Siguiryia?» Flamencos en route and the Ballet am Rhein showed a rapprochement of their opposing dance styles.
Brugger Neujahrsblätter 2018, 03.12.2017
Du - Die Zeitschrift für Kultur August/September 2017, Tanz-ein Lebensgefühl
Ursula Pellaton, Du - Die Zeitschrift für Kultur August/September 2017, Tanz-ein Lebensgefühl, 11.09.2017
Horizonte Aargau
Prioress Irene Gassmann, Fahr Monastery
Interviewed by Andreas C. Müller, Horizonte Aargau, May 22, 2017
Merki succeeded in creating a complete work of art, enormous and coherent, which represents Silja Walter's poetry very accurately. This is particularly true for its fervent, energetic aspects. On second thought: Everything in this production can be connected with the poet, from the choreography to the colors to the rhythmic elements.
Andreas C. Müller, Horizonte Aargau, 22.05.2017
Aargauer Zeitung Kultur, Nordwestschweiz
Man Blossoms Through Dance
(...) Maja Hürst's "Mural" is as much part of a performance that shows Brigitta Luisa Merki at the pinnacle of her art as the dance company Flamencos en route itself or the Chaarts Music Ensemble (...)
(...) The choreographer conceived every gesture and every step as a sign of respect for the performer's counterpart (...)
Elisabeth Feller, Aargauer Zeitung Kultur, Nordwestschweiz, 22.05.2017
Tages-Anzeiger
(...) The musicians, who repeatedly assume roles on stage, together with the dancers, add breathtaking moments to the performance (...)
(...) Brigitta Luisa Merki transformed the atmosphere in Walter's poems into vivid images of closeness and estrangement, affection and loneliness (...)
(...) The influence of contemporary dance - contributed by three of the ten dancers - is evident in all the flamenco parts (...)
(...) The dancers readily open themselves up to the moods inspired by the lyrics and, by doing so, put the audience under their spell (...)
Nina Scheu, Tages-Anzeiger, 22.05.2017
Lenzburger Nachrichten und Zofinger Nachrichten
Lenzburger Nachrichten und Zofinger Nachrichten, 12.05.2017
Aargauer Zeitung Kultur, Nordwestschweiz
Elisabeth Feller, Aargauer Zeitung Kultur, Nordwestschweiz, 10.05.2017
ensuite Zeitschrift zu Kultur & Kunst
Delia Imboden, ensuite Zeitschrift zu Kultur & Kunst, 01.05.2017
AAKU Aargauer Kulturmagazin
Philippe Neidhart, AAKU Aargauer Kulturmagazin, 27.04.2017