Limited

In Limited Krisztina de Châtel seeks to express a feeling that is in her view becoming increasingly widespread. The restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic suddenly made people’s eternal struggle with their limitations – a recurring theme in Krisztina de Châtel’s choreographies – very timely and relevant. However, the events around the pandemic have also intensified a much greater social problem: the feeling of being existentially trapped – as a man or woman, as white or black, as a human being. It is surfacing everywhere as a result of global threats such as polarisation, terror and climate change and because of the lack of perspective and opportunities for physical and spiritual growth. People’s individual creative space appears to be shrinking in time and space.

Krisztina de Châtel articulates this sense of imprisonment in Limited in which a male dancer trapped in a glass cylinder explores his range of movement. “The plexiglass cylinder in Limited is close to the dancer’s skin. You can see the exceptional possibilities of the human body as it confronts this material. There is no way of escaping. The human body writhes and manoeuvres, grows fierce and explores the minimal space it still has.”

“Movement doesn’t necessarily become richer when a person has more space. On the contrary, as the space becomes more limited, it becomes more intense.” (Krisztina de Châtel)

premiere 8 October 2022, ITA, Amsterdam
choreography Krisztina de Châtel
composition Han Otten
dance Ivan Montis
stage design Peter Vermeulen
lighting design Bernie van Velzen
photography Dingena Mol