siesta - Choreographer Brigitta Luisa Merki created this dance and music production for a special venue, the Alte Reithalle in Aarau. The unique ambiance of this location provides Merki with the inspiration for her new creation. (With her impressive adaptation of the Orpheus myth in September 2012, Merki had already proven that the space has a stimulating effect on creativity.)
Collaborating once again with charismatic singer Karima Nayt and with her international guest musicians, she creates an unparalleled sound and image landscape that draws its inspiration from the dazed state of consciousness experienced during an afternoon siesta, a state filled with fantastic visions. Musicians as well as dancers surrender to the hypnotic power of this state, which blends together dreams and reality and allows for unlimited creativity. Unusual dialogues expressed through music and dance develop in the mysteriously melancholy atmosphere of this vagabond state of mind. Arabic songs pair up with Nordic musical instruments, and flamenco rhythms encounter lyrical text landscapes. The audience members' imagination is led to ignore the actual temperature in the Reithalle and to surrender to the sensual events taking place and to immerse itself into the warm, southerly sounds.
The scenes and images are inspired by Arabic songs and by poems by Antonio Machado and Federico Garcia Lorca.

Video

Audio Data Files

karima_nayt_meli.mp3

Rundschau

original in German

Friderike Saiger, Rundschau, 05.11.2015

CREDO, LGT Journal für Vermögenskultur, Carte Blanche

Article as PDF

Lilo Weber, CREDO, LGT Journal für Vermögenskultur, Carte Blanche, 01.10.2015

anda! Zeitschrift für Flamenco

original in German
Flamencos en route - 30 Years en Route
In 1984, Brigitta Luisa Merki, a former master class student of the legendary Bernese flamenco dancer Susana, mustered all her courage and founded the dance company Flamencos en route. At the time, Brigitta probably had no idea that the company would last 30 years and explore the art of the flamenco in ever greater depth. Today, Flamencos en route's productions regularly bring audiences to their feet in sold-out concert halls both in Switzerland and abroad.
(...) Merki's 30 Flamencos en route productions prove that, even as early as 30 years ago, her artistry was far ahead of its time. Merki has expanded the flamenco, be it by using instruments from classical or world music for instance or by modernizing the dance and venturing into the abstract, only to return to pure flamenco before too long. It is this balance between the different art forms and Merki's ability to let her imagination run free that make this dance company so attractive. (...)
(...) The time before and after the anniversary tour was no different. Whether in Switzerland or Germany, her productions show her enormous artistic intuition, her experience, and her skill and knowledge when working with other first-rate artists. The dance company touches and moves the audience in an integral way, absolutely delightfully. And as soon as a performance ends, Merki presents a new production. Where does this woman find her inexhaustible energy? (...)
(...) What this artist does for the flamenco is remarkable and commendable and will enter into the annals of flamenco history. It is as if the choreographer drew her energy directly from the essence of this great art. (...)

Sonja L. Bauer, anda! Zeitschrift für Flamenco, 01.03.2015

Tages-Anzeiger, Kultur & Gesellschaft

original in German

Nina Scheu, Tages-Anzeiger, Kultur & Gesellschaft, 03.12.2014

Tanz - Zeitschrift für Ballett, Tanz und Performance

original in German
(...) The level-headed Swiss artist develops her multi-layered productions from the material at hand. The opening to so-called "contaminations" from every angle, which have occurred in classical ballet productions for a century are relatively new to flamenco. In the flamenco, these outside influences have only been applied for a few decades and thus still excite the audiences.
(...) Eloquent in her own vocabulary and far beyond, the choreographer introduces foreign movements into the highly stylized code of the flamenco as an unsettling contrast, a recognizable quotation, or - often done very organically - as the only natural form of movement at the moment.
(...) Here as well, Brigitta Luisa Merki ranks among the masters of her craft, choreography: She only works with strong-willed personalities. Each one of her outstanding dancers and musicians contributes his or her own different, individual nuances to her creations.
"... y que más!" is the motto of her anniversary season: "what other than flamenco!".
(...) It is probably the only way to stage three complete and very diverse productions in a six-month period, in addition to producing a piece for Martin Schläpfer's Ballet am Rhein in March 2015. Merki shares her compatriot's love for pushing the limits beyond the originally acquired dance language and for experimenting with different types of shoes; in her productions, bare feet perform next to pointe shoes and loudly clacking flamenco heels. Schläpfer insisted on having her bring her own dancers and musicians. "He made it very clear: Come with your people. It will feel as if we had been taken onto an island, no doubt very exciting."
(...) The curiosity is mutual. (...)

Angela Reinhardt, Tanz - Zeitschrift für Ballett, Tanz und Performance, 27.11.2014

Kultur-Tipp

original in German

Maya Künzler, Kultur-Tipp, 15.10.2014

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürcher Kultur

original in German
(...) "Peregrina" means female pilgrim. However, "peregrino" can also mean "something strange or extraordinary."
All these meanings apply precisely to Flamencos en route. Ever since Brigitta Luisa Merki founded the company in 1984, it has been exactly as its name suggests: en route. And it has never ceased to surprise us with extraordinary creations. In "perlas peregrinas" the choreographer reverts to pearls from her previous work as well as to pearls from Spanish culture. She revives characters like Don Juan, Don Quixote, or Sancho Panza. Originally, these were themes preferred by Susana, Merki's former teacher and first artistic director of the company.
(...) In 1994, Brigitta Luisa Merki became director of the company and continued exploring the relationship between contemporary and Spanish dance as well as the connections between flamenco and the visual arts and various musical styles.
(...) Merki has long grown beyond everything that is conventional. In 2004, Brigitta Luisa Merki was awarded the Hans-Reinhart ring for her innovative work, and in 1999, she was honored with the Cultural Award of the AZ Media Group.

Lilo Weber, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürcher Kultur, 11.10.2014

Schweizer Illustrierte

original in German

Anina Rether, Schweizer Illustrierte, 29.09.2014

SRF 2 Kultur, Kultur kompakt

30 years Flamencos en route, report from Maya Künzler (in German)

Maya Künzler, SRF 2 Kultur, Kultur kompakt, 23.09.2014

Aargauer Zeitung, Nordwestschweiz, Kultur

only available in German

Franziska Monnerat, Aargauer Zeitung, Nordwestschweiz, Kultur, 23.09.2014

SRF 1 und SRF 1 Regionaljournal Aargau Solothurn

SRF 1 Regionaljournal
30 Years Flamencos en route, Interview with Brigitta Luisa Merki (in German)

Andrea Affolter, SRF 1 und SRF 1 Regionaljournal Aargau Solothurn, 22.09.2014

Kanal K

30 years Dance Company Flamencos en route, Interview with Brigitta Luisa Merki (in German)

Anita Huber, Kanal K, 21.09.2014

Aargauer Zeitung, Nordwestschweiz, Kultur

original in German

Elisabeth Feller, Aargauer Zeitung, Nordwestschweiz, Kultur, 18.09.2014

Vorschau, Aarauer Nachrichten

only available in German

Vorschau, Aarauer Nachrichten, 12.09.2014

Zeitschrift Brigitte

original in German

Zeitschrift Brigitte, 10.09.2014

moving emotions

original in German

moving emotions, 01.09.2014