PSYCHO
“Choreographer Diego Tortelli (…/ has conceived his) latest work to
create as intimate and thoroughly sensual a total theatre experience as possible.
Instead of emotions, which are largely sidelined, the focus is on muscular
reflexes and physical reactions to external or internal disturbances.
After all, the word ‘Psycho’ derives directly from the ancient Greek term for ‘breath’.
‘Psycho’ is a solo that gets under your skin. The piece thrives on the
powerful presence of the performer (Helias Tur-Dorvault) in every pose,
however abstruse. This is what breathtaking physical theatre looks like.”
Vesna Mlakar I Tanznetz
ψύχω, psycho is ancient Greek for "I breathe/ blow/ live"
Also derived from psyche (ancient Greek ψυχή, psychḗ) for "breath". In ancient Greek, understood in a very broad sense and also used to describe the whole person. Psyche is also the ancient Greek word for soul. In modern usage, it also refers to a person's thoughts, feelings and behavior.
In their new creation PSYCHO, choreographer Diego Tortelli together with his dramaturg Miria Wurm looks at something seemingly fleeting and basic: the breath.
A mostly inconspicuous momentum that functions automatically around 25,000 times a day, constantly inscribing itself into our bodies. Breathing is the first thing we do when we are born and the last thing we do when we die. It is therefore not without reason that breathing is of great importance in all cultures, not only because we have to breathe in order to live, but also because there is a direct connection between breathing and spirit. Breathing is also the only function of the autonomic nervous system that we can consciously and voluntarily influence, and through its depth and rhythm we can also influence our concentration and emotions.
But as the title suggests, PSYCHO also deals with the opposite: that which takes our breath away, blocks our own rhythm and makes our self dysmorphic. PSYCHO is a zoom on physical and inner details with the help of a dancer's body; a dance-pictorial pars pro toto and at the same time its antonym totum pro parte, which transforms itself before the audience's eyes through different physical memories and their patterns. Simultaneously incorporating light and shadow, viewing both parts as equal and intertwining them. The breath stands for one's own life and experience, directed towards oneself and also looking into one's own darkness.
In order to bring this moment, which is almost abstract in its intensity and density, to light, which is initially like a single domino and triggers others in the body through an impulse, Tortelli uses his very own choreographic signature and seems to isolate parts of the body from the rest and reassemble them like a hinge. The result is a kind of broken dance that makes it possible for the audience to experience the body as something new through rapture, distortion and the apparent disconnection of individual parts of the body, while at the same time showing the body in all its ability and fragility.
Emotionally engaging as it reflects the reality and experiences of one’s own life in the form of the physicality of dance.
Artistic direction & choreography: Diego Tortelli
Concept & dramaturgy: Miria Wurm
Dance: Hélias Tur-Dorvault
Original composition: Riccardo Bazzoni
Lighting design: Roman Fliegel
A production of Diego Tortelli & Miria Wurm GbR
with the funding and kind support of
FONDS DARSTELLENDE KÜNSTE with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media
BAVARIAN STATE ASSOCIATION for CONTEMPORARY DANCE (BLZT) with funds from the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts
KUSS Cultural Foundation of Stadtsparkasse Munich
HOCHX Theater and Live Art
FONDAZIONE TEATRO GRANDE DI BRESCIA
developed with
RESEARCH GRANT from the Cultural Department of the City of Munich and
RESIDENCIES at Centro Coreografico Nazionale Aterballetto and PimOff Milan