Conny Janssen Danst | Via Berlin | Ragazze Quartet

What is normal actually? And who determines that? In Normality No More - a fusion of music theater, modern dance, and classical music - three top ensembles take you into a neurodiverse world of experience.

The boundaries blur between normal and strange, neurotypical and neurodiverse, spectator and participant. Where do you sit on the spectrum?

A bestseller in classical music, Schubert's Winterreise, is dissected to the bone and rebuilt anew. In the original Winterreise, the protagonist embarks on a lonely, wintry journey after his love has left him. Seeking inner peace, but tormented and haunted by memories, he remains in despair on the ice. In Normality No More, modern dance, music theater, and classical music merge into a new version: an ode to the divergent mind and a call for understanding and empathy for those who experience the world differently from the masses.

In Normality No More, all dancers, musicians, and actors play characters inspired by personal experiences and scientific research on neurodivergence. They showcase their strength and vulnerability, embracing their diversity while longing for social integration. The audience experiences what it's like to step into the shoes of those considered 'strange' and discovers the unique, multifaceted, and wondrous qualities of the neurodiverse individual.

The Ragazze Quartet previously transformed Winterreise, originally written for baritone and piano to a poem by Willhelm Müller, into a version for baritone and string quartet. In Normality No More, they assemble a colorful ensemble with an unusual combination of instruments and styles. With countertenor, jazz vocals, string quartet, electronics, keyboards, percussion, and bagpipes, Schubert's music is transformed into a completely new, neurodiverse alternative ranging from pulsating electropop to mesmerizing string glissandi and Surinamese dance rhythms.

The performance of Normality No More is the artistic product of a collaboration between Dagmar Slagmolen (Via Berlin), choreographer Davide Bellotta (Conny Janssen Danst), and the Ragazze Quartet under the artistic direction of Ria Marks and advice from Conny Janssen.

• With free introduction in Dutch at 7:15 PM.

About Conny Janssen Danst:

Since 1992, Conny Janssen Danst has been one of the most prominent contemporary dance companies in the Netherlands. Based in Rotterdam, the company is widely recognized for the strong physical and theatrical power of its dancers and the surprising diversity of its productions, where pure dance is imbued with a human touch. In a world that is becoming increasingly harsh and inhumane, there is a need to create space for personal stories.

About Ragazze Quartet:

With groundbreaking programs, the Ragazze Quartet has emerged as one of the freshest and most influential voices in classical music. In innovative programs, it collaborates with the most original voices in theater, dance, and literature. With performances that appeal to all the senses, they succeed in attracting audiences to the rich classical music tradition. They inspire both seasoned listeners and newcomers to the string quartet repertoire of the past and present. Since 2017, Ragazze has been the artistic director of the September Me festival in Amersfoort. First violinist Rosa Arnold is a co-founder of Via Berlin.

The choreography in Normality No More is led by Davide Bellotta, who was a dancer in the company for many years. This multi-talented individual is not only a choreographer but also a musician, composer, performer, and filmmaker. In this co-production, Davide makes his debut for the main stage under the coaching guidance of Conny Janssen.

About Via Berlin:

Via Berlin tells personal, recognizable stories with a unique form of music theater that symbolizes universal and societal themes that concern us. War, illegality, loneliness, segregation, dangerous relationships, populism... the developments in the world sharpen our thinking. We tell these stories in touching performances with classical music, movement, and newly written texts because music and movement can convey something that cannot be expressed in words. Via Berlin enjoys collaborating with innovative musical ensembles such as the Ragazze Quartet, Slagwerk Den Haag, Cello Octet Amsterdam, and the Berlage Saxophone Quartet.