FLOOD

And so, suddenly, tragedy struck… On the 11th of April 2022, an unprecedented storm hit the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In less than 24 hours, around 400 litres per square metre of rain fell, a torrent unleashed by a subtropical cyclone that emerged a short distance from the coast. The city of Durban and its surroundings became the epicentre of a catastrophe that left an indelible mark: 448 lives lost, 43 people missing and some 40,000 people left homeless. This disaster highlighted the vulnerability of urban environments to global warming and how climate change stands as an obstacle to progress.

Tragic connections. These floods, together with the DANA storm that recently hit Valencia, have given impetus to the choreographic project Flood. Based on the conversations and shared ideas of the creators, a space for meeting and working together is proposed.

A piece, born of the coincidence of these tragedies, adopts a poetic documentary style to explore the experiences of two dancers who suffered these catastrophes in their respective cities, playing with the limits of the physical and the emotional. Through a voice-over, their thoughts, fears and memories intertwine as their bodies move to release the fear and darkness left by the floods.

Flood becomes a tribute to the victims, a cry against bitterness and a wake-up call to the world. A choreographic approach that seeks to raise awareness of the urgency of acting on climate change and its devastating consequences.