Photographs: Chasing a Ghost by Alexandra Bachzetsis © Mathilde Agius

Chasing a Ghost


In Chasing a Ghost, Alexandra Bachzetsis draws inspiration from the histories of art, music, cinema, popular culture, and fashion. In today's increasingly polarizing discussions around identity and body politics, Bachzetsis examines how our bodies are used and activated.  In Chasing a Ghost, Bachzetsis repeatedly creates doubles - a double body, a double sound, a double space, a double image. By challenging the choreographic archetype of the duet, Chasing a Ghost stages these doubles in a context of violence and desire. At the core of this duality lies the notion of the uncanny, an estrange phenomenon in seemingly ordinary contexts, but also a potential act of transgression, in which our subconscious and repressed impulses may resurface at any moment. Featuring five dancers (including the artist herself) and a live music score by two pianists, Chasing a Ghost combines live movement and moving images on stage. These elements constantly interact, but the connections between them are intentionally disrupted. Bachzetsis transforms the duet into an unsettling image, making the movement between two bodies a distressing and unexpected event, a perpetual folie-à-deux that challenges how we view ourselves and others.

CREDITS

Concept and choreography
Alexandra Bachzetsis

Collaboration concept and stage
Sotiris Vasiliou

Creation and performance
Alexandra Bachzetsis
Johanna Willig-Rosenstein
Owen Ridley-DeMonick
Gabriel Schenker
Sotiris Vasiliou

Music arrangement and performance
Simon Bucher
Mischa Cheung 

Sound concept 
Lies Vanborm

Commissioning curator
Hendrik Folkerts

Dramaturgy
Dorota Sajewska

Costume / Fashion design
Léa Dickely
Hung La / Kwaidan Editions

Costume Design / Conceptual Advice & Research 
Christian Hersche 

Costume Design / Styling 
Priska Morger and Eva Buehler 

Communication Design 
Julia Born 

Photography 
Mathilde Agius 

First Photography Assistant
Andreas Warren Matti 

Second Photography Assistant 
Fabienne Watzke 

Haur and make-up shooting 
Stephanie Kunz 

Technical Direction / Light Design 
Patrik Rimann 

Sound Engineering 
Jonas Häni 

Technical support tour
Matyas Bokor 

Management 
Anna Geering 

Production 
Association All Exclusive 
Anna Geering 
Daphni Antoniou 

Distribution 
Something Great

Tour Management 
Daphni Antoniou

Commissioned by 
The Art Institute of Chicago 

Supported by 
The cooperative support agreement between the City of Zurich, the Canton of Zurich, and Pro Helvetia—Swiss Arts Council, Ernst und Olga Gubler-Hablützel Stiftung, Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation, Migros-Kulturprozent, Sophie und Karl Binding Stiftung

Co-produced by
Art Gallery of Ontario
Mudam Luxembourg
PACT Zollverein
Tanzquartier Wien
Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
Julidans
Gessnerallee Zürich

This production is a co-production in the frame of the Programmers’ Fund of Reso—Dance Network Switzerland, supported by Pro Helvetia—Swiss Arts Council

In-kind sponsorship by 
Yamaha Pianos, provided by Yamaha Artist Services, New York; Kwaidan Editions, London

Additional thanks to
Cynthia Leung
Edward Traskowski
Paul B. Preciado
Adam Szymczyk
Verena Bachzetsis
Jannis Tsingaris
André Desponds
Aphroditi Antoniou
Raphael Hefti
Li Tavor