Choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker

From the many hundreds of ragas traditionally handed down, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker chose ‘Raga Desh’ as the starting point for her new performance. She describes this raga as ‘harmonious’ and as expressing a feeling of balanced harmony and spiritual peace. The name ‘desh’ – which means something like ‘province’ or ‘nation’ (as in Bangladesh – the land of the Bengalis) indicates the rural or folkloric origin of this piece of music, which is traditionally played on romantic, nostalgic evenings at the start of the rainy season. Raga Desh is also often associated with the theme of missing one’s beloved.

The glow of the stage combines with the orange in De Keersmaeker and Ballester’s dresses. These costumes, which make the female dancers both fragile and elegant, were designed by Anke Loh. De Keersmaeker appreciates the contrast between strict formality and the unmistakable presence of narrative or theatrical elements that is found in Loh’s work.