EXPLORING INTERGENERATIONAL
COMMUNICATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE
The overlap between the real and virtual worlds is a defining characteristic of our contemporary society. Caught in a vortex of virtual messaging, we live, grow and interact in an ethereal environment. We spend all our time in a hazy cyberworld, neither here nor there, where the tangible and the abstract meet. Our virtual preoccupations, our virtual friends and our virtual values leave us precious little time for the real world.
How will this new paradigm affect our children? What will become of the “cloud” and “cloud computing”? Will uber-connectivity be seen as a deadly spell or a magical metamorphosis?
This dance performance serves as a catalyst for bringing generations together, whether on stage or in the audience. Around fifteen local children, after completing a series of preparatory workshops, will join professional dancers on stage for a choreography comprising unscripted movements and a shared vocabulary drawn from simple daily gestures.
March 15, 2019
March 20, 2019
March 25-26, 2019
Le Gymnase (Roubaix)
April 4, 2019
May 16-17, 2019
Dôme Théâtre (Albertville)
June 8, 2019
Forum St-Georges (Delémont)
Sept. 11, 2019
Casino Theater
(Zug)
Objectives
Cloud explores intergenerational communication in the digital age.
Cyber-modern youth are changing how things are done in such areas as teaching, art, communication, business and relationships. What do we need to do to adapt to their expectations and their vision of the world? How can we impart our values to them? How can we inspire them? How can we learn from them?
The overlap between the real and virtual worlds is a defining characteristic of our contemporary society – and dictates the way we understand, enjoy and shape it. Caught in a vortex of virtual messaging, we live, grow and interact in an ethereal environment. We spend all our time in a hazy cyberworld, neither here nor there, where the tangible and the abstract meet, as if we were living in a landscape and in a painting of that landscape at the same time.
“Are our bodies better off here or there?” is a fair question given our dual existence. We transform our daily lives into an intangible – yet illustrated – saga. We extract our existence from the real world so that we can share it more easily. Our virtual preoccupations, our virtual friends and our virtual values leave us precious little time for what is real. One look at our posture is enough: we sit hunched over, obsessed with our screens. The virtual world prevents us from fully experiencing the real world, and vice versa. When we lift our heads, a breath of reality relieves our virtual suffocation. This restores us to our rightful place, in the present, in the here and now. It reminds us that we are still alive, that we aren’t ghosts, user profiles or data points.
Verbal and non-verbal communication
We have created an educational kit to accompany this dance performance. Our aim is to:
- help teachers address a crucial social issue, with children aged 8 to 14
- promote a simple message about the need for dialogue between generations
- remind people that different generations have much to share with each other
- encourage adults and children to enjoy a performance together
News
Cloud-Le Courrier
Cloud-RTS
Teaching materials
Nicolas Ryser is developing the teaching materials for this production, as he did for our last one. They will be available in March 2019, in French only.
"Cloud" premiere
The dance performance "Cloud" will open on 15 March 2019 at the Octogone in Pully. Tickets are on sale now: https://theatre-octogone.ch. An allotment of complimentary tickets for our partners Pro Juventute and Pro Senectute will encourage the young and old to attend the event together.
Sponsors
This production has the advantage of the patronages of Pro Senectute, Pro Juventute and the Commission suisse pour l'UNESCO.
We thank the following organizations for their financial support:
- Loterie Romande
- Forum Meyrin
- Pro Helvetia
- Fondation Juchum
- Fondation Hans Wilsdorf
- Fondation Thomas Stanley
- Fondation Ernst Göhner
With special thanks to:
- La Vaudoise Assurances
- Région de Nyon
We would also like to thank:
- Commune de Rolle
- avectact.ch