Holding Present (2023)
TextPremière June 4, 2023
Concertgebouw Brugges
June 16, 17, 18, 2023
IRCAM & Centre Pompidou, Paris
Holding Present is a new collaboration between choreographer Ula Sickle and the contemporary music ensemble Ictus. Holding Present examines how an individual gesture can become a powerful collective act. Weaving a fabric of existing and newly commissioned compositions by Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros, Stellan Veloce and Didem Coskunseven, a group of eight performers slowly and consciously build a moment, a momentum, moving toward the breaking point where individuals become a critical mass.
The performance stages unusual instruments such as a swinging bull roar, aluminum tubes and megaphones. The performers engage with each other on new terrain, charting lines of flight in the present. And while they build over the duration of the piece, the audience integrates into the fabric. They too become part of the moment, becoming responsible for momentum. Holding Present is a powerful rehearsal for building the foundations of collectivity.
Concept, choreography Ula Sickle
Concept, musical direction Tom Pauwels (Ictus)
Composers Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros, Stellan Veloce and Didem Coskunseven
New Instruments by Gert Aertsen
Creation and performance Amanda Barrio Charmelo, Marina Delicado, Marie Goudot, Ruben Martinez Orio, Michael Schmid, Mohamed Toukabri, Tom Pauwels & Ula Sickle
Light Design Ofer Smilansky
Costumes Sabrina Seifried & Joëlle Laederach
Production Ictus & Outline
Coproduction IRCAM, Concertgebouw Brugge, Ictus & Outline