Tanz fever: a whirl through the Viennese festival where dance erupts across the city
Austria’s month-long ImPulsTanz celebration goes beyond the norm to turn rope jumping, navel-gazing and masked protest into explosive showsMatteo Haitzmann is aviolinistwho has tonight swapped his strings and bow for a skipping rope. With drummerJudith SchwarzandArthur Fussyon modular synthesiser, he has formed an unorthodox trio to deliver a show in which each stroke, beat and jump lives up the title: Make It Count. It’s an hour of unusual rigour with an electrifying thrill – and the standout from my whirl through Vienna’sImPulsTanz festival, a kaleidoscopic programme of performance and participation.With the studied nonchalance of a rock star, Haitzmann stands on one of three island-like platforms, swinging what could be mistaken for a mic lead.Hanna Kritten Tangsoo’s lighting design will become increasingly mercurial but right now the synth desk twinkles, beams crisscross the stage creating an anarchic A next to the drum kit and the swirling rope resembles a red flash of lightning.Continue reading...