Dances for Lucia Długoszewski

The dance project follows on the heels of Klangforum Wien's award-winning recordings Długoszewski's essential compositions: The double album Abyss and Caress (released on col legno in October 2023) is considered to be the first comprehensive sound portrait of her oeuvre. It has sparked an exciting, transdisciplinary collaboration with the choreographers Weronika Pelczyńska (PL) and Elizabeth Ward (AT/US).

Who was Lucia Długoszewski?

Lucia Długoszewski (1925-2000) studied with John Cage and Edgar Varèse before forging her own path. Her music is closely intertwined with dance. She collaborated with Erick Hawkins – the first male dancer for Martha Graham – and his dance company in New York (USA) for over 40 years. The keen-to-experiment artist, a Detroit born child of Polish immigrants, was also an inventor of various instruments. Długoszewski’s distinctive compositions are based on her sensitivity for choreography, body and stage performance.

‍

What is dance and what is music - a concert dance?

Can playing music be like dance and can dancing be like playing music? This is the question at the heart of this dance production. In the spirit of Erick Hawkins, the audience is invited to fully embrace new ways of seeing and hearing and to sense the kinetic energy of Długoszewski's compositions.

"The starting point for our work was the relationship between music and dance, between the aural and the visual. We looked at the body as an instrument taking part in a musical and social game of meanings." - Weronika Pelczyńska, choreographer

The utopian gestures of contrasting rhythms and pace in Długoszewski's music – an incredible challenge for the musicians at the limits of playing and instrumental techniques – is transformed into unique performative constellations.