Denden Karadeniz, Zero Dance Theatre en AAO

In this new co-production by Zero Dance Theatre and the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra, sound and movement are unraveled and recharged with meaning. Dancer and choreographer Denden Karadeniz is responsible for the choreography, while creative director Mohamed Aadroun and guitarist/musical director Bas Gaakeer coordinate the music.

Musical influences and movement language

Six dancers and six musicians form a single breathing body that moves, rubs, and resonates. Dance and music circle around what was once animated but now feels empty. The music moves between new compositions and influences from the musical heritage of Granada to Baghdad, featuring percussion, the oud, and the violin as its driving voices. In the intuitive movement language, hip-hop and contemporary dance merge into a single recognizable, hybrid form. This creates a shared language in which sound becomes movement and movement becomes rhythm.

Ghosts weaves body, music, and memory into a living ritual. The audience witnesses a quest for inspiration—for that which lies dormant beneath the surface and refuses to fade away. From whisper to outburst, dancers and musicians search for what lies hidden behind rituals that have lost their origins, thereby forging new meanings. For our cultural memory resides within our rituals; they carry the roots of who we are.