Into Thin Air

Stranded on a tilted staircase, three performers are floating in space, left to each other and to themselves. One moment they almost slide down the stairs, the next they regain their balance, exploring the boundaries of this lost space with no grip. Until gravity tilts and their bodies are pulled upwards. Here, on this unstable island high above our heads, different laws apply, and a thrilling game is created in which acrobatics and dance merge. 

In the work of dance/circus company Panama Pictures, movement enters a challenging dialogue with architectural scenery. The objects and spaces created by permanent designer Sammy van den Heuvel not only determine the atmosphere but also form a challenge, obstacle and motive for the performers. The dancers and acrobats of Panama Pictures push the boundaries of what is possible and make their physical sensation tangible for the audience.

Pia Meuthen followed her dance education at the Amsterdam School of the Arts and the Fontys Dance Academy in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Since graduating she has created performances for various Dutch production houses and companies. In 2002 she founded Panama Pictures where she is artistic director and choreographer. 

With her company Panama Pictures, choreographer Pia Meuthen has developed an authentic signature: unpolished and raw, characterized by the ease in which dance and circus are woven into a new physical language that embraces acrobatics but does not emphasize its technical prowess. It is a powerful language that triggers a physical reaction. As a spectator you feel the impact of the movement, clearly something is at stake. With themes at the crossroads of the personal and the universal, Pia invites her audience to identify with the performers and appeals to a sense of empathy with them.

‘Even though we long for clarity and control over our existence, we have to relate to a world that is complex and unpredictable. In my work I want to make the multi-layered tangible and to portray people who hold their ground in complex situations. Our performances are an invitation to the audience not to unravel a story, but to be open to a multitude of meanings by creating space for their own associations, memories and questions.’ (Pia Meuthen)

The presentation of the performance at ConTempo Festival is supported by Performing Arts Fund NL.