Works: Vera Tussing + Quatuor MP4

Bert Van Dijck

Bert Van Dijck

Tactile Quartet(s)

Tactile Quartet(s) is an interactive piece that builds on Vera Tussing’s previous explorations of dance, tactility, and the sensory engagement of the audience. Four musicians play the American Quartet by Dvořák, a piece written in the late 1800 and belonging to the romantic period in music history.

In Tactile Quartet(s), the string quartet switches between playing their instruments, and engaging in one-on-one tactile encounters with audience members creating a “physical play back”. What we hear is music; what we see is choreography. What if we take the string quartet seriously as a dance – and dance along?

Four dancers will mediate the encounter between musicality and tactility through a choreography oscillating between the felt, the seen, the heard and the aesthetic. The commands, movements, and communicative channels which animate musicality are refracted through the synaesthetic lens of Vera Tussing’s choreographic practice. The musicians and dancers negotiate acoustic and kinesthetic material, inviting the audience to enter into their kaleidoscopic score. At the point where the elliptical orbits of audience, dancer and musician intersect, the senses merge and split. In the midst of this elaborate constellation, you are asked to give us a hand – or an arm.

Credits

Direction: Vera Tussing Performers Research: Zoltan Vakulya, Yoh Morishita, Esse Vanderbruggen, Gorka Gurrutxaga Arruti, Ehren Verrelst, Vera Tussing Musical Collaborators: Quatuor MP4 (Claire Bourdet, Margaret Hermant, Pierre Heneaux, Merryl Havard) Musical Dramaturgy: Clara Levy Musicians Research: Clara Levy, Sinouhé Gilot, Hugo Boulanger, David Dupouy, Anastasia Laurent, Dorelle Sluchin, Esther Singier, Victor Guaita, Ruben Martinez Orio Sound Research: Benoit Pele, Michael Picknett Research/Dossier: Seb Kann Production: Hiros & Vera Tussing Co-production: Kaaitheater Supported by: Vlaamse Gemeenschap, In/finity (Topaz)