MARLENE MONTEIRO FREITAS — NÔT

In the organizer's words:

EN

Summer festival opening with the opening production of the Festival d'Avignon: State of the Art in contemporary dance.

Few names are more associated with the future of dance than that of Marlene Monteiro Freitas: born in Cape Verde in 1979, the choreographer has become known for works that are as formally rigorous as they are expressive, for which she was awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale, among others. From 2026, she will also be jointly responsible - together with Summer Festival regular Florentina Holzinger - for the artistic direction of the Berlin Volksbühne. After last appearing at the Summer Festival in 2020 with her theater grotesque MAL, she is now presenting her latest work: With NÔT - Creole for night - Freitas approaches storytelling in the tradition of "1001 Nights" and combines dance and live music to create a nocturnal story session about life, death, dreams and reality - like in a Goya painting, where the uncanny aspects of human nature come to light under the cover of darkness. After the world premiere on the 2000-seat Cour d'honneur open-air stage at the Avignon Festival, Freitas and her team will come to Hamburg to work on a stage adaptation at Kampnagel, which will open the summer festival (presumably in a rousing way).

EN

State-of-the-art in contemporary dance: the festivals kicks off with the visionary opening piece of Festival d'Avignon.

Few names are as closely linked to the future of dance as that of Marlene Monteiro Freitas. The choreographer is known for her rigorously structured yet high-expressive works, earning her the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale. From 2026, she will also help shape the artistic direction of Berlin's Volksbühne, alongside Florentina Holzinger. After her 2020 Summer Festival appearance with the world premiere of MAL, she now returns with her latest piece. NÔT - Creole for "night" - explores storytelling in the spirit of "1001 Nights", blending dance and live music into a nocturnal narrative session on life, death, dreams, and reality. Like in a Goya painting, the darker aspects of human nature emerge under the cover of night. Following its world premiere on the vast open-air Cour d'honneur stage at the Festival d'Avignon, Freitas and her team come to Hamburg to create a new indoor adaptation - set to (very likely) launch the Summer Festival with unforgettable force.

Price information:

9-45 Euro (50% reduced with festival ticket)