He who never tasted bitterness will never taste sweetness in heaven. 
Adam Mickiewicz  Forefathers’ Eve, part II

Let absinth be more bitter than wormwood
Let love be homeless and mute
Let freedom continue to be imperilled
Truth – a distant and present land
Jacek Berezin ***

Bitterness comes in many shades. The author of the piece examines various areas in which we experience bitterness – sensory, existential, metaphysical. Bitterness lies hidden in the taste of rust, absinth ecstasy, or the bitter-sweet feeling of love. It can be found in the cleansing herb of wormwood, which breaks evil spells.

The experience of bitterness encapsulated in the literary and folk traditions – including the poetry of Mickiewicz and Berezin, and the folk rites of Forefathers’ Eve and Whitsun – is enlaced with the embodied experience of traditional “white” voice.

Scenes:

Eros and Thanatos
Interior
Nyph in the Mullein
Maternity
Three Moirai
Wanderer by the Sea of Fog
Melancholy
Echo and Narcissus
Chimera

Produced in collaboration with the Institute of Music and Dance as part of the Choreographic Commissions 2017 programme.

Tłum. Józef Jaskulski © Instytut Muzyki i Tańca