maria teresa tanzarella
I'll be back (2021)
by and with Utopisistas (Matilda Bilberg, Jenna Hendry, Nerea Gurrutxaga, Maria Teresa Tanzarella)
dramaturgy: Simon Froehling
sound: Moritz Alfons and Luz González
light: Thomas Giger
costumes: Mat Voorter and Pepa Canel
production management: Hélène Hüsler
dramaturgical support Tanzhaus Zürich: Lea Moro
video and photography: Michelle Ettlin, Jonas Bilberg, Thomas Zamolo
illustration/graphic design: Fabio Bergaglio
coproduction: Tanzhaus Zürich
residency partners: The Swedish Arts Grants Commitee (SE), Höjden (SE), Cie Thor (BE)
with the support of Stadt Zürich Kultur, Fachstelle Kultur Kanton Zürich, The Swedish Arts Grants Commitee, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Elisabeth Weber Stiftung, Migros Kulturprozent Zürich , Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse, Tanzhaus Zürich Promotional Society
In I’ll be back, the dance collective UTOPISISTAS explores notions of the self, pitches individual fulfilment against serving the common good (or vice versa) and exploits the full potential that lies in interdependencies. Supported by a soundscape composed of their voices and using improvisation in both movement and speech to harness the power of the spontaneous, Matilda Bilberg, Nerea Gurrutxaga, Jenna Hendry and Maria Teresa Tanzarella dance and talk themselves into a multiple being with a collective body and a shared consciousness. In the process, they both satisfy and undermine our need for synchronicity and symbiosis, creating a sparkling, highly charged and often humorous piece, which not only reflects UTOPISISTAS’ collaborative and non-hierarchical approach to performance making but also raises quite a few timeless questions along the way: Do I end where you begin? Or do I exist only through you? And if so: Can we co-create a self? Or are we alone? Forever?
We are a wondering, wondrous being,
visiting an uncanny world and that other planet.
We will sweat for you.
We will be challenged.
As will you.
But don’t worry: We will also laugh with you.
So let us gather all of our existing mutants.
Let us assemble our multiple self.
trailer:
a documentary on the creation process
Choreographers at Work ! #2: UTOPISISTAS
Choreographers at Work!
A series about creation processes in the field of contemporary dance
by Michelle Ettlin & Mona De Weerdt
#2: UTOPISISTAS / Jenna Hendry, Matilda Bilberg, Maria Teresa Tanzarella, Nerea Gurrutxaga
The second portrait in the documentary series Choreographers at Work! is devoted to the collective work and rehearsal processes employed by UTOPISISTAS. It shows the four dancers and choreographers Jenna Hendry, Matilda Bilberg, Maria Teresa Tanzarella and Nerea Gurrutxaga working together on their production I'll be back (2021). The film captures elements such as vocal and movement research, the four dancers' search for synchronicity in improvised unison, and their negotiation and decision-making processes. Viewers experience how the piece’s theme of the dissolution of the self is explored during rehearsals through dance and choreography, as well as the challenges that collective artistic work entails.
Credits
Concept: Mona De Weerdt, Michelle Ettlin
Camera, editing, post-production: Michelle Ettlin
Dramaturgy: Mona De Weerdt, Michelle Ettlin
Translation: Anna Johannsen
Production: echolot films / mdw Kulturproduktionen
Co-production: UTOPISISTAS / p-e-p
Distribution: UTOPISISTAS / p-e-p
Special thanks to Jessica Huber, Cosima Grand, Johanna Hilari, Alexandra Hennig
with:
Jenna Hendry, Matilda Bilberg, Maria Teresa Tanzarella, Nerea Gurrutxaga (concept, co-choreographie, dance)
Luz González (music composition)
Simon Froehling (dramaturgy)
Locations: Tanzhaus Zürich, Studio Thor Brussels
Supported by: the Federal Office of Culture / Dance as Cultural Heritage, Fachstelle Kultur Kanton Zürich, the Ernst Göhner, Cassinelli-Vogel, Corymbo, Alexis Victor Thalberg and Sophie and Karl Binding Foundations, Migros Culture Percentage. The translation is financed by: Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council and the Oertli Foundation
Partners: Reso – Dance Network Switzerland, SAPA Foundation – Swiss Archive of the Performing Arts
© echolot films / mdw Kulturproduktionen / UTOPISISTAS / p-e-p 2021