Performance “This is Not Mårup Church” / Granhoj Dans (Denmark)
Participants: Palle Granhøj, Sofia Pintzou, Dominyka Markevičiūtė,
Povilas Jurgaitis, Marius Pinigis, Anne Eisensee
Musicians: Dalia Dedinskaitė (violin), Glebas Pyšniakas (cello)
Lighting performer: Darius Berulis
Choreographer: Palle Granhøj
Set designer and lighting: Palle Granhøj
With support from: The Danish Arts Foundation, The Augustinus Foundation and The Beckett Foundation
Location: @Culture Factory (Bangų str. 5A, Klaipėda)
Duration: 55 min.
Critiques corner**
"Incredible and very moving". Kirsten Dahl / "The poetry of the body on the edge of the world". Kulturnyt.dk / "It's not Mårup Church - it's magical surrender to higher powers". Iscene / "Very moving, when Granhøj finally looks wistfully out over his sea of audience". Weekendavisen / "A beautiful and moving dance performance about a universal feeling of longing." Dans tidningen
„I walked into the empty Mårup Church – I was just passing by. At that point, only the walls remained. There, I heard the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. Some might say it was a skylark soaring high. But I stood there for a long, long time and listened. Suddenly, I heard something… or someone… gathering together – and they sang. From up there.”
ONCE, THERE STOOD A CHURCH
Mårup Church was erected in 1202 on a cliff on the west coast of Denmark – at the time, 1.2 km from the sea. Year by year, the raging North Sea gnawed closer, and in 2007 it was decided to dismantle the church, stone by stone, with hopes of a future reconstruction. But that dream was later abandoned. In 2015, Mårup Church was reduced to rubble and forgotten.
The award-winning dancer and choreographer Palle Granhøj was born in a small town, a stone's throw from where Mårup Church once stood. Performance "This is not Mårup Church" is a journey into Palle Granhøj's personal space – a poetic reflection on the longing for what is no longer there, presented as a combination of words, live music, choral singing and movement.
LONGING LIVES IN THE BODY|
What is longing? A first love, the discoveries of childhood, the eagerness and vitality of youth – feelings that have left their traces but no longer exist. On stage, is the choreographer himself, besides four dancers, two musicians and a polyphonic men's choir, using elastic bands and his iconic technique of obstruction, to explore the nature of longing.
Some may know Mårup Church from the film Babette’s Feast. Some others perhaps precisely because it no longer exists. This performance about what we miss, and a reminder that what is lost can still reach us – through the body, the music, and the silence.
“What is a longing? It must be something approaching, perhaps something religious. In any case, it’s an irrational, ritual surrender to some greater forces.” – Palle Granhøj, choreographer
Granhøj Dans is an internationally acknowledged dance company based in Denmark. The productions of Granhøj Dans are created by the company's artistic director and choreographer Palle Granhøj, in close co-operation with the dancers. The starting point of every production is the Obstruction Technique developed by P. Granhøj, and which has made possible the creation of about 40 original works in the last 35 years. Based on the above-named working method, the choreographer reshapes the movements of the performers by means of hindering actions, revealing inner layers of their personality in the process, thus turning the spotlight on human condition. Rather than showing dancers and choreographies on stage, P. Granhøj wants to present men and women as they are: genuine, alive - and complex. The works of Palle Granhøj has so far been presented in 50 different countries. www.granhoj.dk
Photo: from company archive
