Hyperborea – a reconstruction of a festival
According to the ancient Greeks, the mythical land located in the north, Hyperborea, was a paradise on earth, and its inhabitants remained eternally young and happy, unfamiliar with the notions of quarrel, conflict, or war. They nourished themselves on the fruits of numerous groves, avoiding the consumption of meat. In this land the sun was a god, no one fell ill, and the day lasted the entire year, with the exception of a single solstice. It was then that the Hyperboreans gathered to dance, sing, and perform rituals that guaranteed the extension of this state of bliss for another year.
The celebration of a festival is an entire sequence of actions, consisting of individual and communal practices, behaviors, props, food, singing, dancing, and other forms of social activity – games, play, parades, and processions.
When thinking about the reconstruction of a festival, I focus above all on participation. In order not to remain merely an observer, this should be based on engagement in the various stages of preparation, as well as on constructing the language of this ephemeral community, called into being for a brief moment, which we will be able to use within the framework of the event itself.
The event, lasting a full twenty-four hours, consists of several stages situated in several spaces, dedicated to different forms of activity of the body and the mind. All these elements are connected by a shared key of symbolism, color, and movement created specifically for the festival.
During the preparatory stage, the activities will take place simultaneously; in the subsequent stages, we will combine them into a whole.
Stage 1 – Entrance Gate / preparations (parade dance workshops, vocal workshops, audiophile space, masks and scenographic elements, gift room, culinary zone)
Feet – an open, freely guided workshop of parade steps as well as dance figures and sequences that will appear during the celebration
Throat – an open, freely guided vocal workshop based on calls, chants, shouts, and songs that can be used during the celebration and the parade.
Eyes – stationary scenographic elements (celebration) and mobile ones (parade), masks, lanterns, costumes, make-up, etc.
Ears – an audiophile room where one will be able to listen to ritual music from various traditions, with an emphasis on Slavic cultures
Entrails – a culinary space where festive dishes and drinks can be prepared together (four elements – colors and flavors)
Heart – a gift room where we collect and prepare small presents for the participants of the event.
Stage 2 – Celebration (Parade à rebours, dance revelry)
A. Parade à rebours – costumes, lanterns, masks, parade steps, instruments and calls, backwards, inside out, the world turned upside down.
B. Dance revelry according to a numerical scenario, continuously modified in response to the unfolding energetic dynamics.
1 / Unit. Stillness. Swaying in the wind. Points, dispersion, lines, rows, movement
The individual as a component of the community, dances led by a single leader. Processional dances in open and closed circles.
2 / Pair, bipolar arrangements, cosmic cycles, pendulum
In tradition, the Cosmos was regarded as a living being that is born, develops, and fades away; therefore its existence is governed by the same laws and principles as human life. The life of the cosmos is a chain built from a series of time segments, separated by periods of transformation. This cyclicality has a pendular nature and oscillates around basic binary oppositions such as: day – night, summer – winter, life – death.
3 / The triad, assimilation of the Other, Gate
Rites of passage are rituals that change a person’s status. Their characteristic feature is the transformation (removal and bestowal) of a certain quality of the person subjected to them. These rites serve to mark breakthrough periods in an individual’s life, associated with crossing the boundary between two social categories, with moving from one phase of life to the next, a change of age or social group; in the life of a community, they are connected with cosmic events such as the passage of one year into another, the celebration of the solar cycle, or the phases of the moon. Each rite of passage is usually divided into three stages – separation, liminality, and incorporation.
4 / Clusters, groups, non-empty sets
Symmetrical and asymmetrical structures, reflections in a distorting mirror. Us, you, them – assimilation of the “Other,” exclusion, building walls and bridges, “appropriating space,” or the unexpected transformation of “space” into “place.”
Stage 3 – Exit Gate (farewell, removal of make-up, exchange of created gifts)
Removal of make-up, symbolic annihilation of masks, costumes, lanterns, and decorative elements. Morning stories, a shared breakfast, gifting and the exchange of presents.
Premiere of the theatrical event “Hyperborea – a reconstruction of a festival” (Poland) /Retroperspektywy Festival 2021 / Chorea Theatre / Fabryka Sztuki Łódź
The Hyperborea Team
Jacek Hałas – creator and mastermind of the concept, leading the dance and parade steps workshops, parade, dance revelry
Francois Monnet – the heart of the whole, mask and scenography workshop, master chef
Julia Hałas – make-up “Hyperborea style”
Alicja Choromańska-Hałas – paper art, assistant to the master chef
Antek Hałas – ethno / chillout
Jonasz and Jakub Hałas – the right and left hands of Jacek Hałas, trumpet and accordion
Family Orchestra and Theatre “Noiseband” – parade, dance revelry, dance workshop
Kapela of Brama Theatre – dance revelry, parade, dance workshop
Agata Harz – workshop of chants, calls, and songs sung backwards, leading the choir during the parade
Katarzyna Jackowska – gift room, the brain and heart of the third stage of celebration, the exit gate
Duration: 11 hours / Audience age: 14+
* LIVE EVENT!
Date: August 21, 2021 / Saturday / Time: 3:00 PM – 2:00 AM
Venue: Building B and C, Art_Inkubator at Fabryka Sztuki in Łódź, 3 Tymienieckiego Street
EVENT PROGRAM:
* Stage 1 – Preparations
Important information!
We kindly ask event participants to:
1. Bring your favorite mug (it will serve you during the event, and at the end you will give it to someone)
2. Bring your own spoon (you will take it back with you)
3. Bring your favorite washed vegetable (a root or greens, either whole or two items)
4. Bring Blue
time: 3:00 PM
Opening and introduction to the Hyperborean journey
Venue: Courtyard of Fabryka Sztuki
time: 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM
Alchemists / Entrails / Kitchen – together we will prepare Golden Soup and Hyperborean drinks (Dragon’s Blood, Myriam’s Solar Milk, Pure Water)
Led by: Francois Monnet and Alicja Choromańska-Hałas
time: 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Pompa Celebrationem / Feet – an open, freely guided workshop of parade steps and dance sequences that will appear during the revelry
Led by: Jacek Hałas and Jonasz Hałas
time: 5:45 PM – 6:45 PM
Persona Borealis / Eyes – mask-making
Led by: Julia Hałas and Jakub Hałas
time: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Vox Retrorsum / Throat – an open, freely guided vocal workshop of shouts, calls, chants, and songs à rebours
Led by: Agata Harz
time: 3:15 PM – 8:00 PM
Continuous access:
1. Chill-out zone – an audiophile room where one can listen to ritual music from various regions of Hyperborea and Slavic lands
Led by: Antoni Hałas
2. Kitchen
Led by: Francois Monnet and Alicja Choromańska-Hałas
* Stage 2 – Celebration
time: 8:00 PM
Feast / Golden Soup – a dish created together with the event participants, i.e. a vegan soup made from ingredients brought by the participants
time: 8:30 PM – 11:00 PM
Parade à rebours
Led by: Noiseband and Agata Harz
time: 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Dance revelry
Led by: Kapela of Brama Theatre and Noiseband
time: 11:00 PM
Hyperborean drinks and Repas du berger
* Stage 3 – Exit Gate
time: 11:30 PM – 12:30 AM
Blue Rhapsody / Stories / Exchange of Gifts
Led by: Katarzyna Jackowska
Metamorphosis of Masks / Totem
Led by: Everyone
