Those who know Marco Goecke‘s works know that they always have to do with himself and with the time in which they were created. Perhaps The Big Crying is Goecke’s most personal piece, begun in Autumn 2020, shortly after the death of his father. It is a piece about parting and about everything we have to burn, says the choreographer, speaking of bodies that are like broken engines and of costumes that resemble the curtains of a hearse. It is not surprising that his choice of music includes a Death Lullaby; Blood Roses by the American singer Tori Amos whose music – sometimes confusing and not always comprehensible poetry is very close to Goecke’s dance – hits the mark.
The fact that this piece nevertheless comes along with the tremendously fiery power of an entire company, nineteen outstanding dancers, is perhaps due to the fact that, despite all transience, the dance and the choreography celebrate the joy of life and the urge to be alive.