Trance'n'Dance

The development of music and dance are closely related; both art forms are in an inspiring and critical exchange with each other.

A perfect example of this relation are the musics of Earle Brown (1926-2002) and Morton Feldman (1926-1987). The two Americans shared not only a long mutual friendship and the same birth year – this year they would have celebrated their 90th birthdays - , but also a decisive interest in dance. Both wrote music for avant-garde choreographers that turned upside down the public’s expectations about how “ballet music” should or could sound.

Famous examples this are Brown’s imposing Indices – music for a ballet from Merce Cunningham - and Feldman’s Three Dances which are dedicated to the American choreographer Merle Marsicano, the latter an unpublished work stored in the Paul Sacher Stiftung in Basel.

In the project Trance’n’Dance, Manufaktur für aktuelle Musik (MAM) returns these works to their original context of contemporary dance, but with new choreographers Katja Cheraneva and Frances Chiaverini.

The complete montage complete with scenic elements contains two other key works from both composers: Brown’s Folio and 4 Systems and Feldman’s A Very Short Trumpet Piece.

In contrast to the works by Brown and Feldman, Paul Frick’s Metal Zone (founder of the Berlin techno ensemble Brandt Bauer Frick) where Frick interweaves instrumental virtuosity and sonorous refinement with techno beats.