The point of departure for Built to Last was an on-stage confrontation of a group of dancers with the “totality” of classical music by artists including Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ludwig van Beethoven, Iannis Xenakis, Meredith Monk and Arnold Schoenberg among others. The selected works are turning points in the history of music. They represent important changes in mankind‘s relation towards ideals and utopias. The actors and dancers act and react driven by the music as if they were carried away by a time-machine. They are forced to deal with constantly changing situations and states of consciousness.
As Meg Stuart says: „The expression ‘built to last' betrays a belief in eternal values, heroism and universality. How can we cope today with the expression of such self-confidence? We feel the urge to continue reinventing ourselves. We have to move forward. Many things are designed to break after a short time. There is also the sense of an approaching end. Everyone is privately preparing for it. It is sad, but that's the way it is. Maybe Built to Last is about how, in the light of eternity, we can practice taking our leave."
Built to Last is presented in the context of House on Fire; with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union.
Following pieces of music can be heard in Built to Last:
Hymnen Region II - Karlheinz Stockhausen
Zwischenspiel - Hans Zender
Thalleïn - Iannis Xenakis
Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”- Ludwig van Beethoven
Staub - Helmut Lachenmann
Lontano - György Ligeti
Vespers Op. 37 No. 1 - Sergeï Rachmaninov
Symphony No. 9 “From the New World“- Antonin Dvoràk
Sederunt Principes - Pérotin
Pierrot Lunaire: Der Kranke Mond - Arnold Schönberg
Astronaut Anthem - Meredith Monk
Symphony No. 9 - Anton Bruckner
Le Temps et l’Ecume - Gérard Grisey
Atmospheres - György Ligeti
Misa “Et ecce terrae motus“ - Antoine Brumel
Gurrelieder: Seht die Sonne - Arnold SchönbergMeg Stuart is choreographer and dancer living and working in Brussels and Berlin. She has collaborated with theatre directors, actors, composers and visual artists including Hahn Rowe, Christoph Marthaler, Doris Dziersk and Philipp Gehmacher. With her Brussels based company Damaged Goods, Stuart has created over twenty productions, ranging from solos to large‐scale choreographies and including site‐specific creations and installations. Over the years she has initiated and taken part in several improvisation projects. Her work has travelled a wide international theatre circuit and has also been presented at Documenta X (1997) in Kassel and at Manifesta7 (2008) in Bolzano. She received a Bessie Award for her body of work (2008), a Flemish Culture Prize in the category performing arts (2008), and the German Konrad‐Wolf‐Preis (2012).