Granhøj Dans performs PETRUSHKA EXTENDED in Sao Paulo
The prize winning Danish dance company Granhøj Dans has decided to take on a new challenge, and once again it takes its point of departure in the works of composer Igor Stravinsky.
With the support of Danish Cultural Institute, the result can be seen when PETRUSHKA EXTENDED is performed at SESC Vila Mariana on the 6th and 7th of July in São Paulo.
The performance is composed of a selection of four dancers from Scotland, Hungary, Greece and Poland, and the music is performed by the Russian pianist Maria Ashpai.
Dance and theater curator and critic Celso Curi has invited Granhøj Dans for a residency to exchange inspiration and develop new partnerships. Curi is a central figure in the Brazilian dance and theater community. He has great admiration for Granhøj’s work and has already presented Granhøj Dans at Curitiba Theater Festival in 2015.
PETRUSHKA EXTENDED
With this new work, choreographer Palle Granhøj takes on an even more profound encounter with Stravinsky, who is still considered rather progressive, characterized by his irregular rhythms, uncommon orchestrated sounds and weird chords, which as his time caused great resentment and made him an artist magically rejected by the critics. In Petrushka Extended, the choreographer creates a fusion between a piano concert and a dance performance.
THE DIRECTOR AND COMPANY GRANHØJ
Palle Granhøj is the founder and director of Granhøj Dans since its beginning in 1989. The autodidact dancer entered the world of professional dance in 1986. Palle is the architect of all of the performances of Granhøj Dans and has developed his own work method called “the Obstruction Technique”. As the name indicates, the idea is to create obstructions and interrupt the dancer in his movements in order for him to discover new and unexpected movements and at the same time gaining a higher conscience of the rules guiding body language.
Granhøj Dans has won several prizes, the most recent for the best dance Danish performance in 2014 with “Le Sacre du Printemps” which also revolved around Stravinsky. Since its foundation, Granhøj Dans has produced more than 25 projects and toured in more than 45 countries.
With Petrushka Extended Granhøj continues his exploration into the language of dance as an artistic expression. Until now, this investigation has resulted in a series of performances with theatrical characteristics, and this has made Granhøj internationally famous as the most innovative Danish contemporary choreographer.
Petrushka extended is performed the 6th and 7th of July at 21:00 at SESC Vila Mariana in São Paulo.
Workshop
Palle Granhøj is doing a workshop at SESC Vila Mariana on the 7th of July from 15:00-18:00http://www.sescsp.org.br/aulas/96980_WORKSHOP+COM+PALLE+GRANHJ
Read more about our Danish-Brazilian dance project Dança DK