Acclaimed headlines for The Rite of Spring / common ground[s]
17 January 2023
From January 12 to 15, 2023, Amare and Holland Dance Festival, in collaboration with the Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables, and Sadler’s Wells, presented the iconic program: The Rite of Spring in the famous choreography by Pina Bausch, alongside the moving duet common ground[s], created and performed by Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo. After London, Paris, and Canada, the remarkable production was presented exclusively in The Hague.
On a stage covered with earth, a wild and poetic struggle unfolded between the male and female dancers of École des Sables. Who will be sacrificed in The Rite of Spring to appease the arrival of spring and make new life possible? The result is a gripping choreography set to the powerful music of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky.
The evening opened with common ground[s], a meeting between Germaine Acogny, the first lady of contemporary African dance and founder of École des Sables, and Malou Airaudo, an early icon of Tanztheater Wuppertal. This sensitive and moving duet reflects the intertwined destinies of the two women and their dance traditions, revealing their deep connection and rich respective histories.
Audiences in Canada, London, and Paris had already experienced The Rite of Spring / common ground[s], where it received critical acclaim from the international press. Both The Guardian and The Times awarded it four stars. In The Hague, the extraordinary performance also generated glowing reviews and striking headlines.
“This cast, a tight community assembled from scratch, is immersed in both wrenchingly abstracted and realistic movement.”
— The Gaurdian
