In the old ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (1913) a 'virgin' must die so that spring can come again. Dance makers and performers Zahira Mous & Ivana Berkhout use this as a source of inspiration for their contemporary dance theater performance. They explore the barbaric nature of killings of women in a poetic way in a death ritual under challenging circumstances. It is an interactive performance, possibly different each time. The Rite starts with the ending: the dance of death. Will you be able to stop it?

Studio G/B designed and produced the scenography for the theatre dance performance 'The Rite' by Project Zahira. Due to the heartbreaking subject of the performance, we wanted to design something abstract and poetic to leave room for people's own interpretation. We designed the performance to start off with a patriarchal view onto the death ritual taking place. As time goes by, the performers make their way up the harsh grey towering block, meeting the eyes of the vistors.