ALICANTE MAIN THEATER
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Concept and direction: Matt Golding.
The cast features Lucia Lacarra and M Golding, a real-life artistic couple known for their expressive partnership on stage. The work was conceived before the global health crisis and evolved through the pandemic, first taking shape remotely and later returning to a live format in Dortmund, Germany, where it premiered in 2020. Internationally recognized dancers from different corners of the world, Lacarra from Gipuzkoa and Golding from Canada, bring a distinct sensibility to the piece.
Golding’s concept and direction frame a dream journey that pushes the boundaries of what a dance work can be. The show blends projections with precise dance sequences, creating a seamless fusion of visual and kinetic art. Lighting, music, and choreography by Anna Hop, Yuri Possokhov, Juanjo Arqués, and Christopher Wheeldon lend the piece a layered texture that unfolds across time and space.
The work explores themes of connection and separation, uncertainty and hope, arranged into a montage of six interwoven sections. The fourth segment is titled “Fordlandia” and is driven by musical passages by Jóhann Jóhannsson, with choreography by Arqués. The director Golden Kaftira contributes a meta view through footage that frames the performance, presenting an empty theatre, a deserted beach, and a forest as visual counterpoints to the dancers’ movements.
Throughout the program, choreographic sections convey grace, softness, tenderness, and technical mastery. Recurrent moments of contact between the two dancers emphasize a feminine poise and a neoclassical vocabulary in the arms, torso, legs, and pointe work. The emphasis is often on the couple’s interdependence, with the male dancer providing support that highlights the partners’ shared artistry rather than individual virtuosity.
Descriptive stage elements stand out, including a broad, undulating canvas that echoes the sea and a central double movement that anchors the performance’s rhythm. The musical choices are diverse, ranging from Chopin and Georgy Sviridov to Jóhann Jóhannsson and Arvo Pärt. Pieces accompany scenes such as “Stillness,” “Close,” “Snowstorm,” “Pile of Dust,” and “After the Rain,” the latter marking its 2005 debut through the program’s archival clips.
In the end, the work confirms a simple truth: when someone pursues a vision with courage, something inevitable emerges. The performance embodies that drive — a force that blends ambition with emotion, and the company’s collective effort earns the audience’s applause as a testament to human resilience and artistic craft.