Holland Festival: The Very Last Northern White Rhino

Ode to the white rhino

Inspired by The New York Times article, Core developed an own dance language together with dancer Oulouy that is a mix of urban dance with strong African influences. We see a man dancing because he has found out that, as French poet Paul Valéry wrote, ‘we have too much energy for our needs’. Dancing until the end, because maybe it can no longer be helped. But also dancing from darkness to the light.

The focus of the piece is entirely on dancer Oulouy, both as an individual and as a symbol of the nearly extinct animal. His presence challenges us, not least because he is connected to the concept of the perishable creature from the piece’s title. Are we not a bit like this surviving mother and daughter rhino, listlessly waiting for the end ourselves?