©MatthiasZölle

besloten hofjes

“Daniel Goldin dedicates his latest productions, “besloten hofjes” to two magnificent reliquaries in the former Bentlage Monastery of the Knights of the Cross in Rheine. The strips of glitter foil that rain down onto the ensemble adhere to the perspiring bodies. With flowers in their hands, the six men and three women look with pious smiles into the audience. A still life, a transparency from ancient days. The figures buckle, fall to the floor in slow motion, dropping the flowers as they go. A symbol of living and dying, of flowering and fading... Daniel Goldin charges his choreography, mostly consisting of solos, duets and trios and occasional prominent ensembles, with unobtrusive symbolism. ... Like in paintings of Jan van Eyck, his figures are clothed in a soft luminosity, endowing them with spirituality. The wonderful lighting effects of Reinhard Hubert also give the work dawn, dusk or a bluish coldness and, together with the music, structure. “Besloten hofjes” is a jewel of religious serenity and grace.”

Bettina Trouwborst, Westdeutsche Zeitung, 7 June 2005


"The stage present a fantasy idyll, like looking at a work of naive mediaeval painting: in the background, against a sky of pastel colours, a great rock-like structure projects upwards, half castle, half cave, that slowly comes to life. The dancers steal around as strange, fairytale figures. A veiled woman decorates the grey rock with flowers. A dancer swings his arms like a pelican. Another spits  out a jet of water as if he were a dolphin fountain, and a female dancer with cinnamon-coloured powder on her naked torso causes sheds showers of dust gently to the floor with every movement. A wondrous world emerges, folklorish, mystical, and at the same time grotesque... Only in rare moments do the pictures created by Goldin and his 9-person ensemble bring thoughts of pilgrimages, statues of saints, jewels, and the art and religious cult associated with the reliquaries to mind. His real theme is a view of the Middle Ages released from all the usual clichés; in Goldin’s mediaeval picture, there is no place for knights in armour, with hunts, torture or Inquisition, nor for the pathos of courtly love or Harlequin-type humour. Instead, drawing on the powerful Arabian influences of the time, the choreographer presents the dark, romantic days as a fairytale from Thousands and One Nights... To the accompaniment of Byzantine and Gregorian sounds, but also songs from the Carmina Burana and traditional music from Galicia and India, Goldin puts on a tender ronde of solos, duet and trio formations. Especially beautiful are the muted duos, when the contact between the dancers is of a gentleness as if each were surrounded by an invisible shell, a kind of vulnerable aura which may be circled and touched only with great care... At the end, golden tinsel slowly drifts from above like shimmering rain. The dancers bow their heads, let their arms sink, as if they would fall asleep standing, like flowers at nightfall. It is reminiscent of watching everything come to rest in a snowstorm paperweight after it has been shaken up. It is beautiful and calming to look at, like the whole evening in Münster, though the idyll has a touch of irony too.”

Nicole Strecker, WDR 5 Scala, 6 June 2005


“Saturday saw the much acclaimed premiere of “besloten hofjes”... To the accompaniment of mediaeval music, including sacred works, from Europe and traditional music from Galicia and India, the Dance Theatre ensemble presents a suspenseful, multi-faceted and concentrated interpretation... Sensual pas de deux, near-ecstatic passion and vigorous dances of joy combine to create a powerful visual impression. In “besloten hofjes”, Daniel Goldin succeeds in forming many individual impressions into a highly expressive whole... An intoxicating painting of sound, dance and images is created on the stage, captivating the audience from the first minute to the very last.”

Petra Faryn, Die Glocke, 7 June 2005


"With the new production „besloten hofjes“, Daniel Goldin won enthusiastic applause from the premiere audience in Münster’s City Theatre. With his 9-person ensemble, he investigates – not without a sense of humour – the spirit of mediaeval relic worship... Goldin finds many visually convincing pictures, supported by the expert lighting of Reinhard Hubert  and the colourful, often silkily shining costumes of Gaby Sogl. Even though, as is appropriate to the faith of the usually monkish makers of these “paradise gardens”, a mood of seriousness mostly prevails – at the latest when golden tinsel rains down onto the stage  and the whole thing clearly takes on the air of a snowstorm paperweight, also Daniel Goldin shows something approaching humour. Cheers and enthusiastic applause from the premier audience.”

Hanns Butterhof, Recklinghäuser Zeitung, 7 June 2005



“The reliquaries from mediaeval Flanders were also lovingly known as “paradise gardens”... And were the inspiration for Daniel Goldin and his ensemble for their latest, deeply moving dance evening. The esteem and warmth that became evident in the closing applause in Münster’s City Theatre was of a kind that is otherwise only accorded in German theatres today to Martin Schläpfer in Mainz or Pina Bausch in Wuppertal.”

Marieluise Jeitschko, Gießener Allgemeine, 7 June 2005

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