In C —a performance by Sasha Waltz inspired by the work of American composer Terry Riley—was created during the coronavirus pandemic as an artistic response to the lockdown. Waltz used the constraints of isolation to experiment, creating an innovative choreographic system that allowed the dancers of Sasha Waltz & Guests to improvise freely, even at home.
Riley’s 1964 score, considered a milestone in minimalist music, consists of 53 short motifs in the key of C major. It specifies neither instruments nor duration, allowing the work to be performed by virtually anyone, while Waltz’s choreography translates these principles into the language of dance.
In C grants each performer creative freedom while fostering a dialogue with the rest of the ensemble. The performance becomes a reflection on contemporary society and the balance between individual freedom and responsibility toward the community, redefining the concepts of improvisation and collaboration in art.
This is how the show’s creator, Sasha Waltz, describes it:
The world is changing, and our democracy is threatened by a constant shift to the right. Our artistic work is a constant search for empathy and humanity. We fight against all forms of discrimination, violence, and ideology, defending the democratic values of an open and diverse society. This is precisely what the In C project is about—not merely as a political work, but as a democratic process in dance and music. It is about making decisions individually and collectively, about connecting with one another, listening, supporting one another, growing together, giving each other space, sensing what is needed, what can be done for the good of the entire community on stage, and leaving no one behind. Many of these ideas form the foundation of democracy and are what our ever-changing societies need today.
The project has gained international reach— In C performances, presented by constantly changing groups of dancers, have taken place in Ukraine, Georgia, India, Mexico, New York, and many countries in Western Europe, among others.
Following the performance on Sunday, April 19, there will be a discussion with the artists.
Riley’s 1964 score, considered a milestone in minimalist music, consists of 53 short motifs in the key of C major. It specifies neither instruments nor duration, allowing the work to be performed by virtually anyone, while Waltz’s choreography translates these principles into the language of dance.
In C grants each performer creative freedom while fostering a dialogue with the rest of the ensemble. The performance becomes a reflection on contemporary society and the balance between individual freedom and responsibility toward the community, redefining the concepts of improvisation and collaboration in art.
This is how the show’s creator, Sasha Waltz, describes it:
The world is changing, and our democracy is threatened by a constant shift to the right. Our artistic work is a constant search for empathy and humanity. We fight against all forms of discrimination, violence, and ideology, defending the democratic values of an open and diverse society. This is precisely what the In C project is about—not merely as a political work, but as a democratic process in dance and music. It is about making decisions individually and collectively, about connecting with one another, listening, supporting one another, growing together, giving each other space, sensing what is needed, what can be done for the good of the entire community on stage, and leaving no one behind. Many of these ideas form the foundation of democracy and are what our ever-changing societies need today.
The project has gained international reach— In C performances, presented by constantly changing groups of dancers, have taken place in Ukraine, Georgia, India, Mexico, New York, and many countries in Western Europe, among others.
Following the performance on Sunday, April 19, there will be a discussion with the artists.
Duration: 60 minutes
COMPANY
Concept, lighting, choreography: Sasha Waltz
Music: Terry Riley
Costumes: Jasmin Lepore
Lighting design: Olaf Danilsen
Concept, dramaturgy: Jochen Sandig
Dance / Choreography: the Sasha Waltz & Guestensemble , featuring: Sebastian Abarbanell, Melissa Figueiredo
Lorena Justribó Manion, Margaux Marielle-Tréhoüart
Michal Mualem, Elena Rebeccato, Aladino Rivera Blanca, László Sandig, Miwa Shibata, Stylianos Tsatsos
Music: Terry Riley
Costumes: Jasmin Lepore
Lighting design: Olaf Danilsen
Concept, dramaturgy: Jochen Sandig
Dance / Choreography: the Sasha Waltz & Guestensemble , featuring: Sebastian Abarbanell, Melissa Figueiredo
Lorena Justribó Manion, Margaux Marielle-Tréhoüart
Michal Mualem, Elena Rebeccato, Aladino Rivera Blanca, László Sandig, Miwa Shibata, Stylianos Tsatsos
Project co-financed bythe Goethe Institute in Warsaw.
The Sasha Waltz & Guest ensemble is supported by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion in Berlin.
The Sasha Waltz & Guest ensemble is supported by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion in Berlin.
gallery
Photo: Yanina Isla
Choreographer, dancer, and director. She studied dance and choreography in Amsterdam and New York. In 1993, together with Jochen Sandig, she founded the Sasha Waltz & Guests company, and later co-founded Sophiensæle (1996) and Radialsystem (2006), important venues for the performing arts in Berlin. From 1999 to 2004, she was a member of the artistic direction of Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, and in the 2019–2020 season she served as director of Staatsballett Berlin.
Waltz's work encompasses innovative, interdisciplinary performance forms—from internationally acclaimed dance performances such as the Travelogue and Körper trilogies to choreographic operas (Dido & Aeneas, 2005) and experimental dialogue projects (Dialoge 09 – Neues Museum). In her current work, she focuses on combining choreography with music and intensifying collaborative processes within the ensemble (SYMPHONIE MMXX, 2022; Beethoven 7, 2023). In 2024, she prepared Bach's St. John Passion as a universal story about the human search for truth and justice.
Sasha Waltz is also involved in sharing knowledge about dance and its use as a socio-political medium. In 2021, she created the choreography for In C, based on Terry Riley's revolutionary open score, which became an independent system with an international community of dancers.
Waltz has received numerous awards: in 2011, she was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande, since 2013 she has been a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, in 2021 the French Ministry of Culture awarded her the title of Commandeur des Arts et Lettres, in 2024 she won the Deutscher Tanzpreis, and in 2025 she will be honored with the Helmut Schmidt Zukunftspreis for her work for democracy and the common good.
Waltz's work encompasses innovative, interdisciplinary performance forms—from internationally acclaimed dance performances such as the Travelogue and Körper trilogies to choreographic operas (Dido & Aeneas, 2005) and experimental dialogue projects (Dialoge 09 – Neues Museum). In her current work, she focuses on combining choreography with music and intensifying collaborative processes within the ensemble (SYMPHONIE MMXX, 2022; Beethoven 7, 2023). In 2024, she prepared Bach's St. John Passion as a universal story about the human search for truth and justice.
Sasha Waltz is also involved in sharing knowledge about dance and its use as a socio-political medium. In 2021, she created the choreography for In C, based on Terry Riley's revolutionary open score, which became an independent system with an international community of dancers.
Waltz has received numerous awards: in 2011, she was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande, since 2013 she has been a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, in 2021 the French Ministry of Culture awarded her the title of Commandeur des Arts et Lettres, in 2024 she won the Deutscher Tanzpreis, and in 2025 she will be honored with the Helmut Schmidt Zukunftspreis for her work for democracy and the common good.
Sasha Waltz
