In this delightful remake/retake of a classic on love, Nature Theater of Oklahoma displays a theater of theatrics, an interpretation of an interpretation, inquiring into the narrative construction of life, love, and the self as well as exposing the creativity involved in lightening up the blind alleys of memory.

Ha Ha!, a part of iDANS’ “impossible Dance” series, is haunted by a chorus of laughter that follows a meticulous notation system. Relying on an intelligently crafted dramaturgy of the audience, Maguy Marin’s work was met by the public with physical and verbal (over)reaction. The work is no longer touring, therefore iDANS is unable to present this masterpiece.

Refiguring theatrical space through the metaphorical lens of a ball, Estonian choreographer Nele Suisalu and her French “dancing partner” Florent Hamon enquire into the dynamics of sociability and explore the dramaturgy of face-to-face interactions. Transforming the theatrical encounter to a cozy and intimate one through their improvised performance, they reveal not only the discursive but also the embodied dimensions of communication. They delve into the desires, expectations and wishes of the audience in order to investigate the collective “artifice” we invest in.

The content of this evening will be kept secret until the artists are on stage!

Yamashita invites us to fill in the gaps between body and language. From this confrontation of languages and simultaneous readings emerges a novel space, a zone of freedom entirely open to imagination. Delicate and nuanced, It is written there. is a remarkable choreographic treatise on communication.

French artist Rachid Ouramdane’s solo connects all three themes of iDANS Festivals so far. Loin...(Far…) is a multi-media performance which explores the conflicts between identity and experience of foreignness, tracing a series of autobiographic, poetic and choreographic journeys through Algeria, Cambodia and Vietnam; and through his father’s diaries during his military service in Indochina. It is a performance which exposes the continuity of emotions across the figures of the colonizer and the colonized as ambiguous positions in an endless game of mirrors.

It is difficult if not impossible to translate verbal jokes or jokes based on language. In a way, they set one group apart from another. A joke explained in a different language is no longer funny. However, bodily humor can travel more easily and is more accessible. sans is one of the best examples of the contagion of bodily humor.

Who is this mysterious woman called Gustavia? Is she laughing or crying? Or is she just being cynical on inexhaustible topics such as womanhood, death, theater, the arts and the artist’s position in society? Gustavia brings together two extraordinary choreographers of different artistic trajectories who share similar concerns regarding the future of dance and performance art.

In the throes of an eccentric laughter often indistinguishable with crying, the artists physically and symbolically carry the burden of the words they gradually reveal. Commands, headlines, sound-bites, slogans and confessions overlap and involve us in a game of shifting meanings in ecclectic forms. Are we in a detention camp? Or are we part of a political demonstration? Or is this a battlefield?

In the improvised concert/performance Concerto which undoubtedly requires extraordinary physical dexterity and virtuosity, Ivo Dimchev’s voice subtly travels between the extremes of affects, yet neither laughing nor crying, always remaining in a poetic liminality crafted by the artist and his musical collaborator Emilian Gatzov. Dimchev captivates the audience who feels prompted to ask, “Ivo, how many can you be?”

The content of this evening will be kept secret until the artists are on stage!

(Although humorous, some scenes may be perceived as violent; therefore not suitable for under age 14)