Repertoire / Playbill
Chance
a game of dance for science
Chance changed generation! The piece played successful from 2002 was newly performed by young dancers in 2010.
A game that is both cerebral and visceral.
What really is chance? Does it even exist? If only we were smart and quick enough as we toss the dice, could we possibly calculate, before it hits the ground, which of its faces it will turn to us? Is chance nothing but a measure of our ignorance? Or is it the stuff of our lives, our freedom, the very wind that swells the sails of humanity? Is it a wise helmsman, or a drunkard?
Let’s take a cerebral and visceral look at chance - perhaps as a way of seeing one another.
Chance juxtaposes two domains on stage: those of science and dance. A scientist delivering a lecture on chance is accompanied in the background by a dance performance based on the same motif, chance, as the organizing principle. Superbly playful and funny, the performance lays claim to both hemispheres of the brain, inviting the attentive spectator to discover hidden rules and logical puzzles every step of the way. In a daring casting move, it features appearances by noted mathematicians László Mérő and Ödön Vancsó. One of the most popular productions of The Symptoms, Chance has moved large audiences from all walks of life since its premiere in 2002, in sold-out shows at theaters and, owing to its interdisciplinary nature, also as a frequent guest performance at various scientific forums.
Outside Hungary, Chance has been staged to great acclaim in Graz, Sfântu Gheorghe (RO), Kosice (SK), and Subotica (SCG).
“Réka Szabó, contemporary dancer-choreographer cum mathematician-university professor, has fused her two lifetime vocations in their full glory. Intelligence and humor, the two cornerstones of her art, are combined into a peculiar blend in her latest production. Szabó’s work provide food for the mind and heart just as nourishing as they are a feast for the eye. Chance stands as an interleaving of a magnificent university lecture and an equally magnificent dance play.” (Tamás Halász, Balkon)
The original cast of Chance: Gyula Csákvári, Vera Jarovinszkij, Kata Kopeczny, Márta Ladjánszki, Réka Szabó, Dániel Szász
| Directed by: | Réka Szabó |
| Performer: | László Mérő/Ödön Vancsó |
| Dancers: | Ákos Dózsa, Lilla Emődi/Dóra Furulyás/Júlia Hadi, Júlia Huzella, Zsófia Tamara Vadas, Csaba Varga |
| Music: | Albert Márkos |
| Light, sound: | Ferenc Payer |
| Costume: | Butterfly |
| Supported by: | : Ministry of Education and Culture Hungary, L1 Independent Dancers’ Partnership, National Cultural Fund, Committee of the Budapest City General Assembly, Soros Foundation |
Photo: Gábor Dusa