ZIELEWIND/ Souffle d’âme

Experimental creation and video 2006

What happens when reason makes place for ‘madness’ ? What happens when an artist dares to perform that dangerous leap ? Is there a link? When and how does a germ of pain and delusion becomes creativity ? With ‘ Souffle d’âme/ Zielewind’ soprano Françoise Vanhecke and Pé Vermeersch take an erotomania, as incised in mythical and historical figures as Salome or the ‘insane’ Joanna of Castile. With the virtuosity of their singing and dancing and guided by the therapeutic and musical tradition of the ‘Folia’, they explore an energetic continuum of exhaustion and sublimation.. This performance explores the darkness, but only to return to the light. Art becomes, like in more ancient traditions, again patient and doctor. The electronic soundtrack of Peter Clasen/Neven is a feverish and contemporary re-interpretation of the tempi of the Folia themes.

Concept : Pé Vermeersch/ Paul Vandenbroeck

Light : Mark Hoflack/ Pé Vermeersch

Soundscape : Peter Clasen in collaboration with Pé Vermeersch en Françoise Vanhecke

Life music : compositions of Terzakis, Monteverdi, improvisations on Spanish Folias.

Voice : Françoise Vanhecke

Costume: Pé Vermeersch

Dramaturgy, texts and speech : Paul Vandenbroeck

Video : with paintings of Christophe Denys and drawings of Pé Vermeersch, with black and white – images of the ‘Salomé’ performance by Pé Vermeersch with Emilie de Vlam of 1996………..

The video shown here focuses in particular on the historical story of Joanna the ‘Mad’,