FestRider Photo Blog

“7”: A Dance Through Seven Circles

Omsk, Music Theater
Full Story: 69 photosQuick Impression: 39 photos
Together with student performers of Omsk College, they will guide the audience through the levels of Purgatory
Dante appears on stage with an apple for the first time: a symbol of temptation and the Fall
The first deadly sin is pride: in life, these people looked down on others with haughtiness
The proud would gladly keep Dante in their otherworldly realm forever
…but so far, the angels manage to point the wanderer in the right direction
Yes, the tempting power of the apple is great — resisting temptation is so hard…
The second circle and the second sin — envy, the burning desire for what belongs to others
These sinners have been stripped of the eyes with which they looked upon everything with greed
And here, too, the angels remind him of themselves and of their role in the poet’s journey
…but the prospect of sharing their fate proves all too real
Once again, he owes his miraculous escape to his guardian angels
Their appearance stands in stark contrast to that of Purgatory’s inhabitants
Everyone here is consumed by wrath: both the fierce souls and the poet himself, under their influence
Blood-red tones intensify the sense of perpetual danger
The dark force of this circle is captured with striking precision through modern choreography
In the struggle, Dante loses his apple and, for the first time, understands: something must change
Here and now, they save the protagonist from death — they stop him from leaping off the cliff!
A fleeting impulse of despair gives way to a pragmatic resolve to carry on
The fourth ledge greets with desolation and sorrow: here reigns sloth
Truly, there is no worse sin than willingly giving up and surrendering to grief
The dancers push the weary traveller onward to the next level
…but this is a false conclusion: the fifth circle has been seized by greed
They try to rise, only to fall again — as far from virtue as one can be
Their vice overcomes Dante as well: he greedily bites into every apple within reach
The scene shifts once more: the sound of a heavy downpour fills the air
The sin of the exhausted souls on the sixth ledge is gluttony
They try to catch the streams of water, to drink — but it passes straight through their bodies
New lighting reveals the gluttons surrounded by fruit trees
“Twice dead in appearance”, they try to pluck the juicy fruits, reaching for them…
…but all their attempts fail — in atonement for their sin
Before him unfolds a love story with a tragic ending
Lust brought together a young man and a woman whose marriage society would never have approved
And so their souls entered the world of shadows, where purification by fire awaited them
Dante, too, overcomes the fire at the end of his path
Having understood the nature of sin and freed himself of temptation, the poet has drawn closer to God
Now he is fully ready to ascend to the Earthly Paradise
Many episodes were choreographically demanding and even gruelling
The audience gives the skilled dancers a standing ovation
New projects with this crew are already in the works — bold ones!

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