Rain (live) - Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker/Rosas & Ictus

Rain (2001) is one of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s most characteristic performances, set to Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians. This exuberant, vibrant choreography marked her return to two of her great loves: pure dance and Reich’s minimalist music. Accompanied by pulsating tones – performed live by Ictus – ten dancers occupy the stage for an hour and ten minutes, with an impressive sequence of virtuoso dance phrases. The mathematical figures, the sustained repetition, the geometric occupation of the space, the art of continuous variation – everything that had gradually become De Keersmaeker’s signature was pushed to the extreme in this production. In Rain, she approaches the company of dancers as a close-knit group of distinct individuals who, one by one, play an essential role in the whole. Seven women and three men allow themselves to be propelled by an unstoppable joined energy. They are connected by a lively network of breathing and speed, as well as the special comradery that appears beyond the limits of fatigue. Since its reprisal in 2016, Rain is danced by a new, young cast.
‘For all its delicacy, however, De Keersmaeker’s choreography, like Reich’s music, breathes as deeply as the ocean.’ – Village Voice