promise me
kabinet k & hetpaleis  (BELGIUM)

21 May 2022, 19:30
Boris Hristov House of Culture, 15 Gladston St., Plovdiv

Recommended audience age: 8 +

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To do something for the first time. To challenge yourself. To take the risk of losing.

promise me is a celebration of courage and recklessness, a dance flirtation with the dangers and anxieties we vainly wish to conceal or forget. From the stage flows a childlike unadulterated yet physically powerful urge to invade the territory of the unknown. Curiosity, not indifference, and impulsivity, not illusion of certainty – isn’t that exactly what we need, right now? The show, with live music, is about the life-giving power of the unknown to move us forward, even if sometimes at the cost of scars and sores on our skin.

Belgian dance company kabinet k questions the very notion of fear in several generations. Seven dancers, including children, leave their fears behind the scenes to show the explosive energy of an existence that recognizes no inhibitions, boundaries or inert restraint. To do something for the first time. To challenge yourself. To take the risk of losing. To get off the beaten path and walk the edge. To let go of control. To resist when you disagree. To spit on the demon that haunts you. To throw a stone at death! Because isn’t that what it means to be truly alive? 

promise me is another production by the Belgian dance company kabinet k, created after intensive creative work with children. The choreographers’ starting point is the dynamic of recklessness, as many today have put themselves on the defensive against reality, trying to play it safe and avoid mishaps, setbacks and failures in every way possible. The dance language in the piece is heavily influenced by improvisation sessions with children in the summer of 2020, particularly through exploration of swinging, bouncing and more.

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Choreography: Joke Laureyns & Kwint Manshoven
Live Music: Thomas Devos
Dramaturgy: Mieke Versyp & Koen Haagdorens
Dance: Ido Batash, Ilena Deboeverie, Téa Mahaux, Zélie Mahaux, Kwint Manshoven, Juliette Spildooren en Lili Van den Bruel
Scenography: Kwint Manshoven & Dirk De Hooghe
Costumes: Valerie Le Roy
Light Design: Dirk De Hooghe
Technique: Dirk De Hooghe & Pieter Kint
Production management: Marieke Cardinaels
Communication & Distribution: Mieke Versyp
Photography: Kurt Van Der Elst
Production: kabinet k & hetpaleis
many thanks to: les ballets c de la b
with the support of: the Flemish government, the city of Ghent & the Tax Shelter of the Belgian federal government via Casa Kafka
https://onedanceweek.com/promise-me/

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ONE DANCE WEEK 2022 is part of the Legacy 2 programme of Plovdiv 2019.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2155170391317618/