In the performance Dive Into You, choreographer and performer Kat Válastur hybridises the function of female oracles with the processes of photosynthesis and tree growth. Válastur creates a mythical correlation between the way in which female oracles transmit the divine by entering an ecstatic state and the way in which, in nature, the tree converts light into energy and oxygen through photosynthesis. The transposition of this analogy as a condition into the theatrical space creates a fascinating solo that manifests the quantum and temporal dimensions and aspects of this condition through rhythm, voice and elements of primordial energy such as vibration, spiral, cyclicity. Inspired by the deep, repetitive sounds of a wooden percussion instrument, the semantron which the choreographer brings on stage through the creation of a wooden construction that she activates through her movements, she creates a dance piece on the threshold of a concert, accompanied by the musical composition of musician Aho Ssan and the vocals of Válastur herself. Dive into you emerges as an oracle that seeks to connect us with our most mysterious and tender part.
Concept, Choreography, Performance and Vocals: Kat Válastur / Music / composer : Aho Ssan / Sound Design: Davide Luciani / Lighting Design & Technical Direction: Martin Beeretz /Lighting Assistance: : Raoul 2000 / Choreographic and Dramaturgical Assistance: Michalis Angelidis / Stage Design: Nadja Sofie Eller / Platform Manufacture: Alex Felder / Vocal Coach: Marie Gailey / Production Management: Saskia Schoenmaker / Vocal Recordings at Morphine Raum
»Dive into You«, a production by Kat Válastur / Co-produktion HAU Hebbel am Ufer / Centre Chorégraphique National de Grenoble. Supported by O ESPAÇO DO TEMPO. Funded by Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe. Supported by the NATIONALES PERFORMANCE NETZ Coproduction Fund for Dance, which is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
Kat Válastur also operates in this formal in-between—on the border of genres. Seldom seen in France, she is a rare and valuable discovery by the Marseille Festival. Her work features a truly unique choreographic language. Dancer, singer, performer. Válastur expresses herself alone, seated on a chair placed on an oval wooden floor surrounded by microphones. Dive into You is as much about self- observation as it is about self-listening. The Greek artist, now based in Germany, blends sound, percussion, and voice, spinning her blonde mane to music composed by French artist Aho Ssan. Her face is barely visible.
Movements originate in the upper body, creating a series of spinning gestures repeated ad libitum, while her feet, like those of a flamenco dancer, tap rhythmically on the resonant floor, producing metallic sounds. This floor-instrument is called a semantron, and it becomes one with the dancer’s movements, achieving a total fusion of dance and sound. Válastur radiates breathtaking energy from her seated position, as though sitting imposes no limits on her expressive range.
Jean-Frédéric, Danses avec la Plume – Festival de Marseille, 2025
…From the beginning, and for almost the entire performance, Kat Válastur sits – or is enthroned – on a chair, which in turn is positioned on an oval wooden plate. This is reminiscent of a tree slab, but could also be interpreted as a raft or spaceship. Or perhaps as a semantron, which Válastur plays with her feet. The floor is covered with earth and cables – or are they roots? – that snake out from under the plate. Through such simple materials and forms, this blend of the natural and dark sci-fi visions succeeds.
The dancer herself seems to be in a trance throughout the entire performance. The movements increase from twitching to ever larger, ecstatic circular and swinging motions. Each stomp of the feet triggers a piercing hum. Sometimes it is unclear what influences what here – the music or the movement. Softer moments follow, in which the body sways and comes to rest briefly, before it seems to be possessed again and twitches with tension.
Although Válastur performs seated, the entire performance is incredibly dynamic and energetic, never losing momentum. It is impressive how much movement can take place in a single chair. Together with the sound and light design, the performance draws the audience into an in-between world – somewhere between human life and the dark underworld. The audience is also transported into a kind of trance by all the vibrations, both in the movements and the music, which can be felt in the body. Everything vibrates and echoes; sometimes the air crackles, and every stomp reverberates through your body. It feels as though you are witnessing a ritual.
Greta Haberer, TAZ – 19.12.2024