Numerous legends go back to Lazarus of Bethany. Allegedly resurrected from the dead, he is considered the patron saint of gravediggers. After him the Lazarus effect is named: the reappearance of species, which were considered as extinct. Or also the Lazarus phenomenon: the presumed reawakening of already deceased.
LAZARUS is a dance and music project that bridges current, urban culture and historical, world music traditions. A cosmic audiovisual fusion of past and present, roots and visions. Groove, rhythm and community created and lived on the streets or in clubs, long before they are assigned a name or a genre.
Indeed, actual contemporary dance does not take place in a closed theater and does not care about "discourses."
It unfolds on the streets, where forces and skills emerge that create identity and community, deal with social issues and have a direct impact on the lives of the protagonists. Young, fresh, intuitive dance.
But not only dance: sound and movement, music and lifestyle, fashion and texts, audio and video belong together inseparably. LAZARUS celebrates these connections in a "visual tap dance album": bold compositions and opinionated improvisations, dedicated to free-spirited social justice. Steadfast, optimistic, future-oriented.
It works on these aspects musically with seven tracks in traditions of jazz, folk, afro, soul, gospel, funk and tap dance, each interpreted in its most current form.
Dance short films are produced to accompany these audio recordings as visual counterparts. An enormous variety of urban dance styles and types. Perspectives on the richness, the attitude towards life, the almost spiritual power of these forms of contemporary dance.
Just as the music tracks come together to form an album, the short films complement each other to form a film of about 40 minutes: a kaleidoscope of current urban traditions -- and not as a museum, but as a lived exchange of international artists with tap dancer Nikolai Kemeny, who, as a modern hoofer, connects the worlds of rhythm and movement with his tap dance.
The core team of the project gathers around the Leipzig tap dancer Nikolai Kemeny and the drummer Tom Friedrich. In addition to Leipzig colleagues, hear guest appearances by top-class international musicians, such as Arturo Rúa from Vigo, Markus Stockhausen from Cologne, Dorit Schäffler, Andreas Dänel and Sebastian Weber.
credits
released May 25, 2022
Nikolai Kemeny - tap
Tom Friedrich - drums
Tobias Fröhlich - bass
Christopher Kunz - saxophone
Andreas Dänel - violin, tap
Markus Stockhausen - flugelhorn, trumpet
Dorit Schäffler - bass clarinet
Sebastian Weber - tap
Recorded at:
WAXMOOD STUDIO, Leipzig
OFF THE ROAD STUDIOS, Leipzig
Visual:
Ana Gudiño
Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste
with funds from the Federal Government
Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
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