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BABEL(words) Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Damien Jalet

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Damien Jalet join forces with UK visual artist Antony Gormley to create 'Babel (Words)', a dance performance that explores language and its relationship with nationhood, identity and religion.

Taking the tale of 'The Tower of Babel' as its starting point, Gormley's huge 3-dimensional frames hint at a nameless intersection in a faceless future-city near the nowhere border of no man's land. We watch as the action flows from private to public, intimate to extrovert, and individual to collective - while choices of faith, space and community are made and we are reminded that to some the tale of Babel represents the gates to enlightenment, to others -- chaos, confusion and conflict.

As with their previous collaborations, the show is informed by a profound 'belief in the belief that something matters'. 'Babel (Words)' takes us on a search for what that might be, telling both a bold and tender story of personal, physical, cultural, political and linguistic boundaries, and guessing all the time at what it is that unites rather than divides us.

'Babel (Words)' is the culmination of three distinct journeys: firstly, it's the final part in Cherkaoui's internationally acclaimed 'Foi' and 'Myth' triptych, secondly it reunites him with Antony Gormley, following the success of 'Zero Degrees' with Akram Khan and 'Sutra' with the Shaolin Monks and finally, it honours a decade of collaboration with co-choreographer, Damien Jalet.

13 dancers and 5 musicians have been assembled from 13 countries across 5 continents to work together on a project almost as ambitious, imaginative, determined and skilled as the building of the tower of Babel itself.

www.kalamatadancefestival.gr