ATOLL Festival at ZKM – Alexander Vantournhout »Screws«

Duet with a bowling ball and love dance with ice skates

Normally, a bowling ball has only one function: to knock down as many pins as possible at the end of the lane. But what if you take this object out of its usual environment? Screws, the latest performance by Alexander Vantournhout, reverses the relationship between body and object. Objects are attached to the body, supporting it or unbalancing it, enabling it to overcome gravity or amplifying its effects. Using ice skates, bowling balls, antigravity shoes and other objects, the artists of Screws defy the laws of physics. Along with five dancer-acrobats, Vantournhout leads the audience on a route of reverberating micro-performances, from short solos and duets to pointed group choreography. This site-specific performance invites audience members to leave their seats and leads them on a course through the building. They can walk around, be guided, and choose the angles from which they want to perceive each miniature composition. Trained in both contemporary dance (P.A.R.T.S.) and circus (ESAC), Alexander Vantournhout and his ensemble take another step in his search for the creative, kinetic potential of physical boundaries and the relationships and boundaries between performer and object.