Asomates Dynameis celebrates 25 years of creativity with the performance Land of Darkness/Land of Light, a work of contemporary dance and classical music presented this May. The performance is inspired by the musical piece Death and the Maiden by Franz Schubert urging the creators to speak through the body about the personal and the collective encounter with life and death.

“The piece leads us to reflect on our relationship to fear, loss and decay,” say Asomates Dynameis, “as well as on the infinite attraction of light and the power of life.”

As such the performances on May 3 and May 10 and 11 in Limassol and Nicosia will feature Schubert’s piece, performed by the Fusionia Quartet and six dancers on stage choreographed by Andromachi Dimitriadou Lindahl.

Through movement and music, the performance explores the notions of life and death and the associations attached to them. “The notion of darkness in juxtaposition with light,” add Asomates Dynameis, “signifies the frame of the choreographic research. Inscribed in our cellular memory the passage from light to darkness, visually, as well as symbolically, depicts the basic principle of infinite change.”

Dynameis says that at this point one state carries the possibility of transformation to the opposite.

“In the multiple references of mythology, psychology, religion and literature, this journey signifies the eternal transformation of life’s forces, from birth to growth, to fulfilment, to decay, to death, to resurrection.”

The violent and threatening experience of the pandemic and the war they argue is a time for reflection.

“They led us to reflect on our relationship to fear, loss, decay, despair, isolation, and all that signify the meaning of darkness, but at the same time the unconquerable attraction to light, to the power of life, to hope and the solidarity for each other.”

Land of Darkness/Land of Light

Performance by Asomates Dynames and live music by the Fusionia Quartet. May 3. Rialto Theatre, Limassol. May 10-11. Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Nicosia. 8.30pm. Tickets via www.rialto.com.cy, www.soldoutticketbox.com