FESTIVAL/TOKYO

"3 Abschied" presented by the Saitama Arts Theater faces up to the musical piece "Farewell" which is the longest movement of Mahler' opus magnum "The Song of the Earth". This movement that is based on two poems by the Chinese poets Mong Hao Ran and Wang Wei, who represent a literary tradition the Japanese are also familiar with.

It was a long-cherished dream of the Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker to create a dance work upon this music. De Keersmaeker, head of the dance company Rosas has been continuously and deeply exploring the relation of music and dance from manifold points of view. For "3 Abschied" she challenges Mahler's music in collaboration with the choreographer Jérôme Bel who has been raising attention worldwide with radically conceptual work.

The music for De Keersmaeker's solo performance is performed live by the Ictus Ensemble, one of the most acclaimed ensembles in the field of contemporary music. Ictus will play the chamber version of Mahler's piece, which was arranged by Arnold Schönberg.

After "Zeitung" shown at the Saitama Arts Theater in autumn 2009, this new work by De Keersmaeker and Bel will evoke a new cosmos in dance, overflowing from artistic spirit and experimental venture.