Since its world premiere in 1913, Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (first choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky for the Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company) remained a musical landmark that enticed countless choreographers and theatre makers to propose their own reflections on the music and the themes the music carries. Some versions explored the ritual or religious dimensions within the narrative, while others dealt with issues of gender or blind passion leading to dead end.

In this contemporary adaptation of The Rite of Spring by duo choreographers Ivgi & Greben, the scarification is not an annual ritual practice related to fertility and prosperity, but instead, the sacrifice is linked to group dynamics and social matters, in which one person, a man, is victimized during the struggle for life.

The piece begins with a thin cold white light beam scanning the heads of people who stand still nearby the public, reminiscing a shooting line. Locked in a dark black void, a group of people seemingly haunted, perhaps post-traumatized, discover the new environment they were put into. They move expressively and excessively, seek for an exit path without success.

It is during the second musical movement when a small opening in the back wall appears up high and can be reached by climbing on top of one person’s back.