A hike for the eyes
„The changes - often rapid - of time, place, light atmosphere, sounds and music correspond to Goldin’s astonishing control over extracting varying dancers from the group: solo and ensemble passages are clipsed. The arrangement is convincing, partly performed wonderfully and enables nearly everything: A death procession develops into a love duet, she shrugs of her lover’s cynically offered memento mori, the drum that called for a bloody war against the moors suddenly leads a funny music band who soon face the planks of their pilgrim’s vessel, at the end, there is even a resurrection.“
Georg Höffner, Ultimo, No. 26/27, January 1998
The pilgrims reach the land
„(...) ‘Finisterre’ is a quiet piece with occasional ecstatic outbursts. Measured steps of solo dancers develop into restless dances during which the dancers seem to lose control over their bodies: intense and rough as if they are overcame by an excitement that might be either sexual or religious.
(...) However, the cold passages of the piece outnumber the heated ones and mostley surpass them in their theatrical impact. Again and again, Goldin freezes music and movements, and it seems as if he has also stopped time for a moment.
(...) But there was no doubt that the journey would come to a happy end. Because apart from all pain and effort, Daniel Goldins piece transports the great confindence reliably guiding his pilgrims: an unfathonable faith that might not only stem from the choreographer’s craft but a metaphysic, perhaps religious level.“
Jochen Schmidt, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 10 December 1997
Reality becomes blurred
„Münster’s dance theatre takes its audiance to the end of the world and into the dark Middle Age with the new piece „Finisterre“ by Daniel Goldin. Most of the them return happy and enriched to reality after a 75 minutes’ journey full of intense pictures, bucolic and sacred sounds, macabre-mystic rituals and passionate celebrations - a beguilingly sensuous trip the Spanish Finisterre near Santiago de Compostela, the goal of the ‘Jakobusweg’, bags filled with a souvenir of experiences.
(...) His (Daniel Goldins) choreographies remind of the transitoriness and haste of a wonderful watercolour painting or of the richness of exquisite chamber music, where every single tone is a delicacy, but only the composite of harmony and discord leads to a perfect work of art.“
Marieluise Jeitschko, Neue Westfälische Bielefeld, 10 December 1997
A pensive end of the world
„(...) The dancers enter the scene as if there are in trance; a woman wears a pot of steaming incense. When movement suddenly bursts out of the bodies, there seems to be something hysterical, obsessional and at the same time raturous. This quality will accompany the whole piece, that’s why even dances for joy remind of a ghost’s party. (...) The aesthetics of pale colours, of handcraft give the piece harmony and unity, although the stories are not linear and although the language of their movements is predominantly modern, even if they borrow from folk dances, as in „Finsiterre“. This is added to by Goldins courage to show emotions, even pathos. But Goldin’s piece is saved from being ‘kitsch’ by the simplicity of the movements which show emotions with minimum effort. The choreographer works sparingly, reducing to only a few danced Leitmotifs. (...)“
Sylvia Staude, Frankfurter Rundschau, 12 December 1997