THE MIDNIGHT ZONE

THE MIDNIGHT ZONE is the third part of THE OBLIVION TRILOGY.

THE MIDNIGHT ZONE is a choreographic happening that explores the 'desire for the unknown' and the 'mystical' dimensions of the bodily experience. We understand the 'mystical' as stripped of religious connotations but rather framed as a out-of-the-ordinary bodymind experience provoked by sound waves. The piece delves into a sonic speculation on the oceanic depths of the 'Midnight Zone', that is, submerged zones below 1000 m of depth that receive no sunlight.

Sound artist Lou Drago uses a modular synthesiser to craft electric waves into non-rhythmical, layered sounds which activate the dancing body while triggering specific 'theta brainwaves' bodymind states in the audience: a twilight between wakefulness and sleep, which is very often accompanied by imprecise, dream-like mental images. The performers move through instant composition and in synergy with the forces of the performative field. The choreographic structure is kept minimal so that the energetic dimension of the performative experience can appear. Our intention is to create a performance that allows the spectators to witness and experience a 'mystical, visionary bodymind state'. The use of very dimmed lighting allows a blurring of the boundaries between what is seen around us and what can be seen within us.

THE MIDNIGHT ZONE thematises our desire for togetherness and gives it an affirming, profound dimension. We embrace a political agenda of radical solidarity through a queer eco-feminist lens. The project ignites a discourse on consciousness studies as a gate for embodied political awakening and peace-making togetherness.

The Research Phase for THE MIDNIGHT ZONE is supported by a DIS TANZ SOLO Scholarship, funded by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of Neustart Kultur. A first research residency took place in November 2021 at TRUST in Portugal.

„Gefördert durch die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien im Programm NEUSTART KULTUR, Hilfsprogramm DIS-TANZ SOLO des Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.“