Open rehearsal at 6:00 PM – Show at 8:30 PM
Dancers from the Nuovo Balletto di Toscana present The Red Shoes, choreographed by the award-winning German choreographer Philippe Kratz, based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.
Like in the tale of the girl Karen and a pair of strange red shoes, Andersen repeatedly challenges in his works the traditional juxtaposition between subject and object. Kratz’s creation, with music specially composed by Pierfrancesco Perrone, tackles this strangely unbreakable bond, which is not only determined by functional utility or vain desire for possession but can also entail a loss of autonomy. The projections related to the desires that dominate our world of commodities and consumption are also reflected by dividing the stage space into two. In contrast to the fairy tale, which ends with the violent liberation of the protagonist from the red shoes and her redemption, Kratz’s choreography ultimately focuses on questioning the role of objects in interpersonal relationships.
I don’t perceive Karen as disobedient or vain; a perspective that is emphasized in the fairy tale. Nowadays, we are so accustomed to consuming and often see products as a means to an end, to be noticed by others, to relate to others, and to emphasize our individuality. Karen also tries to connect with others and find security through the red shoes. She fails miserably in this. Yet, what she seeks corresponds to a desire that many of us probably know: to belong to a collective and yet remain an individual.
Philippe Kratz
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Choreography and set design: Philippe Kratz (Reggio Emilia/Leverkusen)
Dramaturgy: Sarah Ströbele (Leipzig/Magdeburg)
Music: Pierfrancesco Perrone
Lights: Giulia Maria Carlotta Pastore (Light Designer)
Costumes: Grace Lyell (Paris)
First Performance: October 19, 2023, Teatro Sociale Di Trento
Duration: 60 Minutes
Performers: Nuovo Balletto Di Toscana, 10 Danzatrici E Danzatori (Florence)
NUOVO BALLETTO DI TOSCANA
The Nuovo Balletto Di Toscana is a strictly professional production structure, founded in 2018 with a team of 10 dancers. The artistic program of the Florentine company, thanks also to a team of renowned collaborators and authors alongside Cristina Bozzolini, reflects a constant and coherent cultural line with the affirmation of the primacy of contemporary choreography and a plurality of expressive languages.
For several years, it has had a consolidated relationship with the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with the representation of full-length ballets, such as Diego Tortelli’s La Bella Addormentata and Jiří Bubeníček’s Cenerentola, as well as participating in some operas such as: Le Villi choreographed by Susanna Sastro, Fernando Cortez choreographed by Alessio Maria Romano, and Die Fledermaus choreographed by Karl Schreiner.
At the same time, the company has been engaged in a new creation by Arianna Benedetti, staging the show titled Pulcinella, Uno di Noi, winner in 2019 of the SIAE Per chi crea grant. The collaborations of the NBDT also extend to other prestigious Italian theaters including La Fenice in Venice and the Teatro Regio in Parma, and it is currently continuing its tours in Italy and abroad with Jiri Bubenicek’s Cenerentola, Michele Di Stefano’s Bayadère – il regno delle ombre (awarded the Danza&Danza prize as best Italian production of 2021), Mario Bermùdez Gil’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps, and Philippe Kratz’s Midnight Youth.
PHILIPPE KRATZ
Winner of the 32nd International Choreography Competition in Hannover and Choreographer of the Year 2019 (Danza&Danza), Kratz is known for his diverse compositional language that combines contemporary dance with technical elements from hip hop and European classical dance. He recently presented his choreography ‘Solitude Sometimes’ at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, sharing the evening with acclaimed authors in theaters worldwide such as Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, David Dawson, invited by the director of the La Scala ballet corps Manuel Legris.
