Pavane (2019)
Art or artifice? Beauty or optical illusion?
In dialogue with the electronic live-sound of musician Korhan Erel, Léonard Engel transposes animal behaviors like mimicry or highly codified mating rituals to the human anatomy.
By doing so, he exposes their abstract qualities and sets them in relation with the Pavane (from the Spanish pavón, peacock), a processional dance from the Renaissance in which the participants display their lustrous attire.
His performance opens new perspectives on the artistic value of animal dances, while creating a new masculinity that tries to seduce through dance, glitter and hypnotic movement, far from a normative display of strength.
Premiere 13.01.2019, Sophiensaele, Berlin (GER)
Choreography & Performance
Léonard Engel
Composition & Live Electronics
Korhan Erel
Dramaturgy Maja Zimmermann
Tailoring Tamara Saphir,
Lisa Simpson
Special thanks Ricardo Pereira
, Sebastian Matthias
Co-produced by Sophiensaele
Duration 45 min
Images
Videos
Critics
With “Pavane”, Léonard Engel abandons his own species in order to transform himself into a human version of el pavo real, using his hands and upper body to entice us with delicate, decorative articulations. An odd beast indeed, but an exuberant display.
Beatrix Joyce, Tanzschreiber, Almost seduced by a peacock