Sasha Waltz & Guests Coming to CAl Performances

Sasha Waltz & Guests, the Berlin-based dance company known for its expansive works within the tradition of tanztheater (German expressionist dance), returns to Cal Performances for the first time since December 2010 with Impromptus (2004). As the first work Waltz choreographed to classical music, the work features seven dancers and is set to five pieces from Schubert's 1827 piano cycle and four lieders. Impromptus will be performed live by pianist Cristina Marton and mezzo-soprano Ruth Sandhoff on Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25 at 8:00 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall. Waltz's choreography has been praised for its uncommon sensitivity to Schubert's music by creating "a telling parallel universe of motion and music ... nearly all the movement is evocative and unselfconsciously original" (The New York Times). Impromptus, "never less than absorbing" (Financial Times), showcases the vulnerability and beauty of the human body through choreography that explores the emotional states between floating and being off balance. Waltz collaborated with set designer Thomas Schenk to construct a set, the scale of which "projects an unmistakable undercurrent of theatricality" (The New York Times), including a gold parallelogram that swings back and forth above the stage.

A pre-performance talk will be held on Saturday, October 25 at 7:00 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall. This event is free and open to event ticket holders. Other residency activities are planned on campus and in the community. Further details will be announced at calperformances.org.

Sasha Waltz & Guests was founded in Berlin by Sasha Waltz and Jochen Sandig in 1993. To date, more than 250 artists and ensembles, including architects, visual artists, choreographers, filmmakers, designers, musicians, singers, and dancers, have collaborated as "guests" on more than 80 productions. A "bracing, questing [and] imaginative talent" (San Francisco Examiner), Sasha Waltz has created a large body of dramatic dance works in her more than 20-year career, collaborating with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Mariinsky Ballet, Staatsoper, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and Opéra de Paris.

Tickets for Sasha Waltz & Guests on Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25, at 8:00 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall range from $40.00-$96.00 and are subject to change. Half-price tickets are available for UC Berkeley students. Tickets are available through the Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall, at (510) 642-9988, at www.calperformances.org, and at the door. For more information about discounts, go to http://calperformances.org/buy/discounts.php.

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