Over de creatie:
Bij het zien van Woke up Blind (2016) is het bijna onmogelijk om niet geraakt te worden door de meeslepende stem van Jeff Buckley en de complexe, emotionele bewegingstaal van associate choreograaf Marco Goecke. Met briljante composities dwalen onze dansers steeds verder af in een akoestische wereld, zichzelf in het diepe gooiend als bij een eerste liefde. Trillingen worden zichtbaar in de lijven, vol oncontroleerbare spanning en kwetsbaarheid, terwijl Buckleys gitaarriffs versnellen als een verhoogde hartslag. Goeckes Woke up Blind is een tijdloos werk dat de kern van onze emoties laat zien.
Luca Tessarini over Woke up Blind:
“Woke up Blind was the first piece I stumbled into when I joined NDT 1 – fresh out of the classical ballet world, ten years younger and at least ten fears heavier. Now I return to it from another angle, and it’s like dancing with an old friend who insists on keeping secrets, revealing only what I’m ready to hear.
This work is a storm and a whisper at once. Its challenges are merciless, its essence intoxicating. you can’t simply perform it – you have to surrender, wrestle, reinvent yourself every single time the lights start fading in. And strangely, that reinvention is the gift: freedom disguised as difficulty, a reminder that our artform lives in change. It has to!
What I cherish most is how individuality is not only allowed in Marco’s works, but it’s demanded. He continues to create a space where we can be utterly ourselves while still breathing together as one. We follow a direction, not a dictation. I look around and fall in love with my colleagues over and over again – they are otherworldly, and my admiration for them is permanent, etched into me. I hope this night carries you, for this moment in time, away from the here and now.
and so for ourselves we have been
tonight for you
we dance
reckless and tender
the way young lovers do: goodnight.”
Paloma Lassere over Woke up Blind:
“When I dance Woke up Blind, it feels like being moved from the inside — where tenderness meets chaos and the music takes over. Jeff Buckley’s voice fills that space between strength and fragility, guiding me through love, surrender, and intensity. Expressing all of this through movement is both emotional and physical — the speed and precision make it a real challenge for the body, demanding presence, control, and total release at once.
I first danced this piece four years ago with another company. Returning to it now feels like rediscovering a part of myself. The choreography is the same, but I am not. I move through it differently, more present, more raw, more true. It touches something deep inside me, where vulnerability becomes strength.
I’m profoundly grateful to Marco Goecke and his team for their trust, kindness, and love. Their presence makes this journey even more alive.”
