Since the mid 19th century, America and its westward expansion, became synonymous with ideals of the pursuit of individual freedom. In this case, it was Man against the Land, and it was clearly Man’s right to win.
The extent to which this expansion has succeeded is evident in our current hyper-globalized economy. But at the same moment that we become aware of how pervasive this success has been, we find that the project of the individual over his environment raises serious doubts and anxieties.
With three cowboys and a gigantic inflatable set, The Host asks what the status of the individual is when his environment can no longer be conquered and controlled, when the individual is weak in comparison to the power of nature to turn against him.
Press excerpts:
“This deconstruction of an image of manlihood turned this into one of the nicest evenings of Tanz im August.”
Sandra Luzin (Der Tagesspiegel)
“When the three cowboys set foot on stage in ‘The Host’ do what cowboys have always done. They set to work, clean up and rip the floor out from under ornery nature in order to use that floor for the western dance of civilization. That is, until nature – in the form of gigantic inflatable air cushions created by the artist Stefan Demming － turns everything upside down again. This isn’t just an amusing pot-shot at masculine self-images. With ‘The Host’, the choreographer Andros Zins- Browne has created a stage installation full of slapstick humor and stoically born effort, in which a cowboy becomes Sisyphus and in all seriousness poses questions to what extent the world can be conquered. Andros Zins-Browne has found a clear aesthetic approach that negates any single, one-dimensional interpretation. It is rare that elements of dance and visual art come together in such an essential manner and develop their very own language of images.
Jury statement from the Goethe Institute Prize (Festival Impulse 2011)
“In its concreteness, [The Host] is a troubling image of the position of mankind.
Pieter T’Jonck (De Morgen)
“With his choreographic work, The Host ties Andros Zins-Browne to the works of Jérôme Bel and Xavier Le Roy and yet is different in several ways- in his search for the connection between visual art and dance, and in his serious investigation of folkloric dances.”
Tom Stromberg (Theater Festival Impulse)
to add images to this gallery.