LIBI / Ryan Djojokarso
Music for a dance theatre piece by Ryan Djojokarso, in collaboration with singers and performers Bernadeta Astari and Tiffany Vicario.
HERFST has been selected for the Dutch Theater Festival 2024 as one of the twelve most impressive performances of the 2023-2024 season.
About
A hopeful ritual for after the end.
After his acclaimed show WINTER/21/J. and the hypnotic LENTE/22/K. the leading role in Ryan Djojokarso’s third dance portrait HERFST (‘autumn’) is reserved for Death. Death is coming. The question is whether or not she will announce herself, but she will inevitably come. We cannot ignore it. We have to say goodbye. We will mourn. We will build a ritual.
HERFST is a crossover of dance, (opera) singing, theater and images. A visually impressive performance in which farewell rituals from different cultures come together. Every culture says goodbye to loved ones differently. From the slice of cake at the coffee table to an exuberant celebration of life. Rituals guide us in our grieving process. In HERFST, songs and farewell rituals from Javanese-Surinamese, Caribbean and Indonesian cultures mingle with the requiem from the Western musical canon. The performers confront their fear, their denial and their anger and long for the infinite. The inescapable end is slowly being accepted.
“After my father passed away last year, I missed rituals for after the end. The death of a loved one is so huge and elusive. You want to put it to words, but that is almost impossible because it is so personal. With HERFST I want to offer comfort, something to hold on to, and perhaps even a little recognition for everyone who has and will have to deal with it.” Ryan Djojokarso
Press
“Composer Jorg Schellekens always seems to succeed in hitting the mark with his musical material. At the right moment there is an acoustic underscore of the action, at the right moment it creates the necessary atmosphere, at the right moment it adds an extra layer, gives the necessary energy, calls for contemplation and he always succeeds in embedding the singing voices in a tight-fitting costume.” Javier López Piñón, Theaterkrant, 30 September 2023
Credits
Concept & direction: Ryan Djojokarso
Performers: Ria Marks, Bernadeta Astari, Tiffany Vicario, Felix Feenstra, Simon Mual, Thersa Bergmann and Mireia Varón Gallofré
Vocal arrangements: Bernadeta Astari and Tiffany Vicario
Music: Jorg Schellekens
Dramaturgy: Jappe Groenendijk
Light design: Ate Jan van Kampen
Artistic assitant: Heleen van Gigch
Scenography: Ate Jan van Kampen and Ryan Djojokarso
Costume design: Jaden Li
Technicians: Jaap Schledorn, Jorg Schellekens and Ate Jan van Kampen
Production management: Susanne Tuny, Milou Margaroli and Kristy Ilyas
Business management: Marijn Bellaard
Marketing: Sabrina Cols and Merel Wildschut
PR: Pauline Ouwerkerk
Video & photography: Bowie Verschuuren
Artwork & graphic design: Esmée Erdtsieck and Amanda Harput (photo)
Thanks to: Fonds Podiumkunsten, Gemeente Rotterdam, Het Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds, Fonds 21, Volkskracht, Vaillantfonds, Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds
Presenting partner: Scapino Ballet
Première
29 September 2023, Theater Zuidplein (Rotterdam, NL)