Karrasekare

Please note: Artist talk after the performance on September 5th.

Centuries of wild carnival traditions come to life on stage when Igor x Moreno create a thrilling pagan ritual of dance, song and blood in KARRASEKARE.

The performance is inspired by the Basque and Sardinian carnival traditions from the ancient times before the domination of Christianity. A time when the beginning of spring was not yet called carnival; a time when the spring solstice required a celebration of the flesh.

The result is a raw, surprising and sweaty ritual where wild and absurd costumes with horns, masks and fur manage to make the audience feel their infectious enthusiasm for the liberating energy of carnival. Filled with the dangers of dancing, singing, and drinking together, the performers recreate the vibrancy and spirit of the folk celebration while also challenging our inhibitions.

KARRASEKARE brings the wild and hot-blooded past of the carnival into the future. With the traditional rhythms that have been part of our dances for centuries, the performers create new and free identities that shatter our own self-perceptions. They bring us back to the beginning. Because even though we are unique and cultured beings, we are all still instinctive animals in human form.

‘Su Karrasecare’ means ‘carnival’ in Sardinian. The word ‘carnival’ (from Latin ‘remove meat’) originally referred to the Christian practice of abstaining from meat during Lent.

Age recommendation
Bora Bora recommends that the audience is at least 16+ years old. The performance contains nudity, theatre blood, strobe lights and loud sound.

Igor x Moreno is the name under which the works created by choreographers Igor Urzelai Hernando and Moreno Solinas – in collaboration with an extended group of artists – are presented.

Igor x Moreno’s works stem from a fascination for people and what makes us such special animals. They use choreography and mostly non-verbal languages to create experiences which can surprise, energise and unsettle. Their works – highly constructed whilst deeply concerned with liveness – visit and escape different genres and styles.

Igor x Moreno’s creative processes favour questions over answers, action over narration, communication over expression, alterity over diversity, patience over productivity. They don’t see entertainment as their duty, but as a useful communication tool. They work with rigour and playfulness. They value pointlessness.

The team – based across Europe – gathers in Sardinia and London, from where Igor x Moreno’s works have toured extensively in Europe and also in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Awards and recognitions include the Rudolf Laban Award and National Dance Awards and Total Theatre Awards nominations; their works have been selected for Aerowaves (2011, 2013 and 2015), NID Platform, British Council Showcase and British Dance Edition.

Moreno Solinas and Igor Urzelai Hernando are affiliate artists of The Place (London), they are co-artistic directors of Sardinian production company S’ALA (www.s-ala.com) and are board members of the Cultural Advisory Board of British Council Italy.