Die Frage der Zeit

On 17 May, the Balletthaus will become a meeting place for dance and jazz: Neshama Nashman, freelance choreographer and dancer with the Ballett am Rhein company, will present a world premiere that will engage in a dialog with the jazz music, live on stage.
The four musicians of the evening are a reflection of the rich jazz scene in NRW: Mathias Haus and Peter Weiss represent the Düsseldorf scene, Genevieve O' Driscoll the Essen scene and Wolfgang Schmidtke the Wuppertal scene.

The right timing plays a decisive role in dance and music. Time and space determine our existence just as much as they shape a choreography or a piece of music. When dance and music come into direct contact with each other, they determine and influence each other, shaping space and time together.
In Neshama Nashman's creation “ Die Frage der Zeit” (The Question of Time), two individuals meet in four short episodes. How they interact and perceive each other, whether they find each other or how their relationship develops is a question of their environment and the right timing. In today's world of sensory overload and uncertainty, the free spirit of jazz music, improvisation and playing together is an attractive alternative to fear, restriction and control mania.

Especially in jazz music, the theme of time is particularly appealing due to improvisation. The musicians create a large part of the sound at the exact moment it is heard. For “ Die Frage der Zeit” Wolfgang Schmidtke, musician, composer and curator, has composed a four-movement suite and named it the “Bilk Suite” after its local destination. In this 20-minute composition, the written part is significantly larger than the improvised part. The performance in the context of the dancers encouraged the use of different meters and tempos, even in the individual movements. The improvisational freedom also allows the artists dancing and making music to influence each other directly.
In a playful dialog with each other, dance and music create a plea for more confidence and devotion. A liberation based on trust in impermanence and the power of constant change.