"The clash between the everyday banality of the human body and its poetic expression is a constant source of inspiration for our works."
The Kinetic Theatre
The Crone is an intricate fusion of genres such as dance-theatre, comics, and real-time video. It functions as a "system" where the performers manipulate the projections or interact with them in various ways. The show aims to create and develop new methods and theories for the use of interactive video in dance-theatre.
The text references are drawn from the novella The Old Woman by Russian poet, writer, and playwright Daniil Kharms. The complex stage production, directed and conceptualized in every aspect by choreographer Alexander Pepelyaev—including the dance, text, audio, and video—reflects the era of Daniil Kharms, a witness to the dramatic shifts in the Soviet Union's disproportionate relationship between the individual and the system. Here, black-and-white films, big band music, and Lindy Hop dances are juxtaposed with images of Soviet reality from the 1940s, while the cartoon style underpinning the piece serves as a counterpoint to the theme of death. The Crone is ultimately a meta-theatrical work that uses time and its manipulation as both a dramaturgical and visual element.
Kinetic Theatre, a contemporary dance company based in Moscow, was founded in 1994 with the aim of introducing dance to the new artistic expressions of the post-Soviet era. Through the language of movement in interaction with literature, music, and theatre, the company seeks new aesthetic and scenic principles. The collision or fusion of the energy of movement with diverse genres and codes—such as sound, words, and text—defines the company's artistic priorities in its ongoing exploration of alternative approaches to contemporary choreography.
Choreographer Sasha (Alexander) Pepelyaev began his career in 1984 as the director of a mime studio at Moscow University, which later transformed in 1987 into one of the first independent studio-theatres during the Perestroika period. Pepelyaev has since worked in circus, television, Moscow theatres, and abroad, until he launched the Kinetic Theatre project in 1994. He has created a series of experimental works centered on defining contemporary Russian dance. His productions consistently combine postmodern Russian texts, contemporary dance, and theatre. Since 2001, Pepelyaev has also served as the artistic director of the contemporary dance festival Tseh in Moscow.
