Carte Blanche:
Monument 0.10:
The Living
Monument
When dance becomes a living monument
Norway’s national company for contemporary dance is returning to the Oslo Opera House – this time in a full-length production by Eszter Salamon.
Monuments as keepsakes of the past
MONUMENT 0.10: The Living Monument creates a world based on colours and slow movements. The audience is taken on a meditative journey through a series of colourful tableaus in a dreamlike universe in which time virtually stands still. The Living Monument invites viewers to immerse themselves in the sensory impressions and figures that arise through the endless landscapes on stage.
Choreographer Eszter Salamon uses a diverse palette of formats and expression in broaching contemporary themes. The Living Monument is based on still lifes, slowness and the body’s presence. The production is part of Salamon’s MONUMENT series that since 2014 has explored how monuments can serve as keepsakes of the past and be liberating and inclusive. This is the basic idea behind Salamon’s exploratory contemporary dance.
A unique scenic landscape
The Living Monument opens in a black landscape populated by figures donning glittery materials and squeaky leather. The performance slowly migrates into a new colour landscape, where viewers can relive their own memories. The tableaus are stringed together by Carmen Villain’s sweeping soundtrack.
The scenic elements of the performance are equated and dependent on one another, developing further as an installation of sound, movement and figures. The scenic landscapes pave the way for perception and wonderment – and the slow transitions between colours, set design and elaborate costumes make The Living Monument a unique and strongly visual experience.
- Produced by Carte Blanche, Norway’s national company for contemporary dance.