Il Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Inventione

The Four Seasons is one of the best known, most iconic and most frequently reproduced pieces of music; a real 'hit' from the classical repertoire. It is also a beautiful ode to nature. De Keersmaeker and Mriziga, who previously collaborated on 3ird5 @ W9rk (2020), share not only a great interest in the observation of nature, geometry and embodied abstraction, but also a concern for our changing and increasingly disturbing relationship with our natural environment.

The four seasons inspires the choreographers to further explore patterns, structures and elements from nature and astronomical configurations as possible starting points for a choreography. Reflecting on the four seasons also makes the urgency of the climate crisis painfully clear. Can we still talk about four seasons today? Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons exactly three hundred years ago in the Mediterranean, where different continents meet. In this sense, Vivaldi's composition also invites reflection on the geopolitical dynamics in the region and the way in which knowledge, power and history spread.

In Il Cimento dell'Armonia e dell'Inventione, various lines are interwoven to create a unique choreographic writing. The piece returns to the core, the structure of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and the many associations and emotions that this piece of music evokes, while giving shape to a choreographic counterpoint. The performance also explores the contemplative aspect of The Four Seasons, which lies in the familiarity of the piece of music and the familiarity of nature.