Sei Wasser, mein Freund

Dates

von Ira Demina

Age 6 and over / Year 1 and above

What if a human body had three different states and was constantly changing from one to another? How would an ‘ice body’ dance? How would a ‘steam body’ move? What if the right leg were stem and the left hand were ice?

Water is the ultimate quick-change artist. It can change state any number of times, take on any shape into which it is poured without putting up the slightest resistance, yet it has carved out entire canyons and burst apart solid rock if it is poured into cracks and left to freeze. Bruce Lee, the great karate artist of the 1990s, liked to compare his martial art to water: the idea was that you should absorb a blow by giving in, not by resisting. “Be formless, shapeless – like water. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

(c) René Löffler

(c) René Löffler

(c) René Löffler

(c) René Löffler

The choreography by Ira Demina has the dancers take on the form of physical natural phenomena and explore through motion the fact that every human body is almost 70 per cent water.

Choreography: Ira Demina
Dance: Ira Demina, Anna Fingerhuth, Yuya Fujinami
Staging: Ivana Vukovic
Sound: Matthias Erian
Lighting: Martin Pilz

Feedback from the audience:

“Once again, BE WATER, MY FRIEND proves how well dance goes down with young audiences. This performance captivates, appeals to all of the senses and stimulates you: it gets you laughing, thinking and moving yourself. A wonderful atmosphere, with the public and dancers on an equal footing. You discover, experiment, fail and triumph together. It’s lots of fun!” (Joanna Mandalian)

“We both enjoyed the dance piece we saw very much. It was fantastic! I personally liked the theme of ‘water’. which is always very fascinating to think about. The workshop also got me thinking more about it. We can survive without food for a while, but not without water, as more than half of our body is made of water. This dance piece made an impact on me last weekend, as I started thinking about water again in depth. Thank you so much for providing us with a great opportunity.” (Akiko Watanabe)