Dance festival comes to an end with three shows this weekend
After a series of very interesting shows, Kalamata’s 12th International Dance Festival, which kicked off last Friday, will come to a close this Sunday. The festival, which every year hosts a string of performances that reflect all trends in the contemporary dance scene, will end with shows by Portugal’s Sonia Baptista, Austrian choreographer Chris Haring and Israel’s Emanuel Gat. Lisbon-born Baptista, who has performed at various festivals, will present «Icebox Fly. Winter Kick,» two solos featuring movement, recitation and video screenings. The production reflects a fragile, personal world, full of femininity and nostalgia, and will be staged at the Municipal Cultural Center at 10 p.m. on Saturday. Chris Haring and Liquid Loft will present «Kind of Heroes» at Kalamata’s Polykladikon Lyceum Gym at 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Haring, who has danced with prominent dancers and choreographers such as Lloyd Newson, Nigel Charnock and the DV8 Physical Theater, has been influenced by science fiction and is interested in the effects of technology on the human body. «Kind of Heroes» is the second part of a trilogy in which Haring explores the dancers’ so-called «soundbody,» a sound landscape that surrounds everyone’s body like a kind of aura. With his work, he has represented Austria in many dance festivals. Emanuel Gat is considered one of Israel’s finest talents. After his studies in music, he joined the acclaimed Liat Dror Nir Ben Gal Company and went into choreography soon after that. In Kalamata, he will present his choreographies on Schubert’s «Winter Journey» and Igor Stravinsky’s «Rite of Spring,» at the castle at 10 p.m. on Sunday. The much-discussed production has traveled to the most important dance festivals in the world in just a year. Gat’s «Rite of Spring,» in particular, has received contradictory reviews and has caused great controversy, as Gat chose to use elements of salsa which, through constant swirling, allow couples to change partners very frequently. For ticket information: tel 27210.80163.
