THE MUSES
by Lidia Buonfino
Jule Bauer, Johanna Blackstone, Lidia Buonfino, Anja Herrmann, Meike Münch, Jana Riediger, Giulia Sophia Young
The muses, the ancient goddesses of the arts, have come to life.
With a combination of stilt dance, theatrical recitation, dance, singing and live music, the artists pay homage to all the arts and their admiration.
In ancient Greek and Latin texts as well as in ancient German and English translations, they quote poets and philosophers such as Hesiod, Capella, Sappho Plato about the muses and their gifts:
Is it the flame of passion that defines the true artist? Is it his obsession and madness, or his devotion to truth and beauty?
Do the muses serve the artists by inspiring them, or do they feed on their inspiration?
Are they ethereal fairies blessing the souls of dreamers or dangerous sphynxes judging the unworthy?
The slow and graceful movements of the actors, who dance with true weightlessness on stilts, make them appear "outside of time", as if they came from an Olympus where humanity is only a blink of an eye in immortal eternity.
This impression is underlined by the delicate, flowing robes, which were designed by Suzan Basbay from antique saree and chiffon fabrics and which seem to float in the air or under water. Lidia Buonfino's design is inspired by ancient Greek and Roman paintings and statues as well as Art Nouveau portraits that revive and reinterpret ancient myths with light ornaments and a deep, dark and solemn aesthetic.
Johanna Blackstone's first arrangements were inspired by medieval hymns as well as Nordic and other folkloric and ritual chants.
In our new program, the musical compositions by Anja Herrmann and Alex Pilz combine spherical, mystical sounds with modern beats, without foregoing hand-played instruments such as frame drums, nyckelharpa or transverse flute, and bring the "sound" of the muses to a new level.
The melodic voices of Julia Bauer and Johanna Blackstone are joined by the Bulgarian chants by Anja Herrmann and Giulia Sophia Young, which give the harmonies a powerful folk note.
The actress Lidia Buonfino, who breathes new life into Latin with her expressive, deep and evocative voice, Meike Münch's hypnotic dance and the acrobatic arts of Jana Riediger cast a spell and round off the interdisciplinary performance.
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Lidia Buonfino is trained in classical and physical theater.
Since 2002 she has been working throughout Europe as a freelance performing artist (, dance, stilts, recitation, singing), director and event organizer. www.buonfino.de
Since 1990 Anja Herrmann as been working as a freelance musician/ teacher for percussion and singing.
In addition to concerts in Europe, Asia, the USA and the Middle East, she has also performed as a stilt walker with various show productions and as a solo artist since 2005. www.stelzenbein.de
Jule Bauer studied singing (Dr. Hoch´s Konservatorium), nyckelharpa (SMP Forlimpopoli, Italy), musicology and music education (JW Goethe University).
Since 1995 she has been working internationally with various ensembles with an emphasis on research and interpretation of early music. www.sonnenklang.de
Meike Munch has been dancing since 1992.
Since 2003 she has been working as a freelance dancer, choreographer, lecturer and fire artist in Switzerland and Germany
and organizes various dance shows and festivals of her own.
www.mirimah.com/
Jana Riediger first worked as a make-up artist and as a senior designer for visual marketing at a cultural center.
Since 2006 she has been presenting her own shows and ensemble productions throughout Europe. Their repertoire includes aerial acrobatics, stilt walking and interactive walking acts.
www.flugtraeumer.de/walk-act/
Johanna Blackstone ist Singer, musician, actress, make-up artist and wig stylist. After her Bachelor of Arts in Music and Theater, she worked at various opera houses in the USA and was the star of the VENETIAN Macau Resort & Hotel "Streetmosphere" in China
The musical singer and dancer Giulia Sophia Young studied at the Joop van Ende Academy and the Institute for Music at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. She works internationally as a swing & chanson singer, musical performer and actress..
