“Sin is a stuck record, round and round, over and over, always the same…”
William Burroughs
Angelless begins as a two-part dance project inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins (sloth, lust, greed, gluttony, pride, envy and anger). Three of these sins: Sloth, lust and greed, form the basis for Angelless, whereas the remaining sins will be the basis for Dark Horses (1994).
Press quotes*:
Angelless by Blok & Steel contains the sum of elements that miss in many productions: inventive space composition, spectacular dance and captivating, technically skilled dancers. Blok & Steel make theatre that is meaningful to our times and appeals to the audience. They play tricks with stereotypes and dance traditions. The dance vocabulary they have developed since 1990 is perfectly linked to this.
Gerdie Snellers – Volkskrant (NL)
Suzy Blok and Christopher Steel are absolute experts in risky acrobatic dance. Angelless is thrilling and exciting but also dangerous. Partly due to the sharp forms of their metal wall and their five metal chairs. In this exactly timed group piece, the movement remains pure and clear in its space composition.
Isabella Lanz – Trouw (NL)
A lively dance theatre piece full of discoveries, suprising changes, delicious partnerwork, funny passages and a breathtaking climatic ending.
Frans Mulder – Overijssels Dagblad (NL)
Blok & Steel bring deadly sins with humour. Intricate movement alternates with tumbles and lifts. The tempo is very high, the atmosphere is playful and unconstrained.
Maarten Baanders – Leidsch Dagblad (NL)
Blok & Steel dance in an athletic way, sweat provoking, often with humour, but never lightfooted.
Frankfurter Rundschau (D)
The acrobatics, which the dancers seemingly easily add to their movement repertory, does not just erase dimensions in space, but also traditional concepts of relationships. Highlights are the (ironic) traditional behaviourism in heterosexual encounters: outstanding diversions and melancholic goodbyes…. Blok & Steel have recreated a major theme, without diminishing its meaning.
Edith Boxberger – Frankfurter Allgemeiner (D)
* The quotes have been translated from Dutch or German.
Credits:
Concept & Choreography: Suzy Blok & Christopher Steel
Music composition: Stefan van Campenhout
Dancers: Suzy Blok, Jessica Molenaar, Christopher Steel, John Taylor, Gabrielle Uetz
understudy: Einat Tuchman
Light: Mike van de Lagemaat
Decors design: Blok & Steel
Decors made by: Nelissen Dekorbouw & Tijl hekma
Costumes: Paulette Boschung, Christine Boschung
Music recording engineer: Ward van Groenland
Rehearsal director: Annie Cox
Advice: Bambi Uden
Text: William Burroughs, Kathy Acker, Monica Blok
Acrobatic training: Rozenstraten & Rozenstraten
PR design: Jeroen de Vries
PR photography: Diana Blok
Stage photography: Ben van Duin
Production leader: Paulien Mouw
Production assistant: Marloes Hermelink
Manager: Marina Blok
Angelless is a Satori production, made possible with the financial support from the city of Amsterdam, the ministry of Science, Public Health and Culture (W.V.C.).
Special thanks to: Jacqueline Knoops, Bianca van Dillen, Springdance festival, Felix Meritis and Anjerfonds.