Hungry Sharks (AUT)
BÉTON BRUT
- SZENE Salzburg
In BÉTON BRUT, the urban dance company Hungry Sharks brings the aesthetics and principles of brutalist architecture together with the values and history of the dance style breaking. The revolutionary brutalism movement enriched the architecture of the 1950s with new values, principles and buildings that remain a visible component of urban landscapes around the globe. Choreographer Valentin Alfery and the ensemble reveal a broad range of features that it shares with the dance form breaking a key ingredient of hip-hop culture. Breaking, which appeals to different social classes through its expressive aesthetics, is based on a similar social idea to the brutalist building culture. These common aspects arrange themselves around the essential element of rough concrete, which not only represents an important medium through which brutalist architecture expressed itself but also an underground physical environment where breaking was developed and practiced.
The dance company Hungry Sharks was founded in 2011 by the choreographer Valentin Alfery and the producer and photographer Dušana Baltić. Based on the idea of establishing the movement language of urban dance in the theatre, since its inception the company has regularly created full-length productions and toured them internationally. The group has already made two successful guest appearances at SZENE with its ensemble of emerging dancers, Young Sharks.
Artist Talk on June 18 following the performance.
Idea, concept, artistic direction, choreography, texts: Valentin Alfery • dance, movement research: Elena Bartosch, Timo Bouter, Alexander Tesch, Maëva Abdelhafid • live sound, composition: Manuel Riegler • dramaturgy, choreographic assistance: Marco Payer • production, artistic assistance, voice: Dušana Baltić • Lighting design: Valentin Alfery • Costume design, fabrication: Kreineckers / Anna & Magdalena Kreinecker • Production assistance: Maira Darja Hor- vath, Laura Graciela Saiz, Max Rosenberger • Photography: Jelena Janković, Kilian Kovacs.
A co-production of Kulturverein Hungry Sharks, SZENE Salzburg and brut Wien. With the support of SZENE Salzburg and Festspielhaus St. Pölten in the context of a working residency. Residency and research with Katharina Senk, Jacob Börlin, Jennie-Love Navoret, Anton Schalnich, Viviane Tanzmeister, Kilian Kovacs, Michael Sellner, Max Rosenberger, Alexander Ihara Muus, Victor Petro, Timo Bouter, Alexander Tesch, Elena Bartosch, Marco Payer. Thanks to Matthias Mollner (development concrete shoes), Hannes Veitlbauer (concrete mixer), technical team of SZENE Salzburg (technical support). Supported by City of Vienna MA7, BMKÖS, City of Salzburg, Province of Salzburg, Province of Carinthia.