Sad Case
Sad Case was created in 1998 when Sol León was seven months pregnant with their daughter, and acts as one of the main pillars of León & Lightfoot’s oeuvre. Since then the ballet has been modified into an adapted version. Surprising and earthly movements on Mexican mambo music show a continual search for the tension between satirical and classic moments.
 
 
Short Cut
Jacob ter Veldhuis composes with his ears. I choreograph with my eyes.
 
“For this choreography, I was actually looking for a long adagio. When I heard this string quartet by Jacob ter Veldhuis in the car by chance, I was extremely surprised. I was struck by the tonality, the poetry in the music and the driving rhythm. Rhythm is in the end, as Balanchine once said, the foundation of dance. This ballet is somehow pulled to the ground. There are barely no lifts. Everything is directed towards the ground. The choreography sticks to it. In my experience
that corresponds exactly with what Jacob ter Veldhuis does in his music.”
– Hans van Manen
 
Midnight Raga
Goecke combines a deep midnight blue with his piece “Midnight Raga”, the title of which hearkens back to classical Indian music. The raga is a basic melodic structure which often emotionally suits a particular time of day. Usually, Goecke does not begin a piece with music. This time it is different: the Indian music by Ravi Shankar is the starting point. The choreographer liked both the Indian mysticism and the “freaky” quality of the music. He was also excited by the idea of using Indian music without resorting to elements of Indian dance at all. “I have been fascinated by India for a long time now, because life there is so concentrated and intense, but at the same time seemingly also so immaterial and many people simply die in the bitterest poverty. I also think the ritual cremations after death have a captivating and, at the same time, annihilating power.” Despite the Asian-Indian inspiration – also reflected in the heavy blue silks of the costumes –, one thing is unmistakable right from the start: Goecke’s very own, nervous language of movement, tailor-made for the two dancers Guido and Alex, and which they have internalized in every fiber of their bodies.
 Nadja Kadel.
 
Subtle Dust
We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. – T.S.Elliot
 
“2001 was the last time we worked with the infinitesimal music of J.S.Bach. His influence for a period of our oeuvre was impactful, therefore it was a clear and conscious decision on our part to revisit him now in our journey. Nearly all of the pieces of Bach we have collected for this ballet are transcriptions or interpretations of his magnificent music. His source remaining intact, and yet altered, transformed. Transformation plays a crucial role in all our lives on many levels, be it physical, emotional or spiritual. Our work remains abstract, yet what purer way to compare our choreographic duality to the concept of both manual instinct and intellectual thought transmuting to produce a third element made of both in part. A Symbiosis. We wanted that this work should be firmly about quality with these young and talented artists. To hopefully enable them to grow and change by returning to the roots, swimming with the cycles, reconnecting with nature where we will all encounter the source which is patiently waiting.”