GRAVITY ©Andreas Etter Staatstheater Mainz

About GRAVITY

Art is never without risk for those involved. Whether with a safety net or a false bottom, whether authentic or merely illusionistic – every true artistic achievement demands the courage to transcend boundaries, embracing the very real possibility of falling or failing. Rather than being called upon as thrill-seeking risk-takers chasing adrenaline, dancers are called upon through their professionalism, mutual trust, and openness to vulnerability. GRAVITY takes us into the wonderful world of their “risk space.”

Following the FAUST Theater Prize-winning choreography SPHYNX and CocoonDance's acclaimed guest performances at the tanzmainz festival, GRAVITY is the second collaboration between Rafaële Giovanola and tanzmainz

PRESS REVIEWS (excerpts translated by AI)

Rafaële Giovanola's “Gravity” thrills audiences with tanzmainz.

In her choreography “Gravity” ... she explores gravity and tells a brilliant story about life ... Over the course of just under an hour,

the flow of these bodies, which fall and roll, spring up or crawl away, catch themselves or stubbornly get back up, increasingly resembles life itself. ... It is as much a dance with gravity as it is

a dance against it. ... Giovanola succeeds in creating a pull in which the bodies appear like elementary particles. ... Until, just under an hour later, exhausted calm returns. And, at the premiere, huge cheers. (Eva-Maria Magel, FAZ.NET, November 16, 2025)

As soon as you enter the Small House at the State Theater, it becomes clear: This tanzmainz premiere will be different... Everything is bathed in dim twilight, the atmosphere is latently threatening, like in a dystopian arena. ... As in her tanzmainz piece ‘Sphynx’... the Swiss choreographer once again manages to captivate the audience with something seemingly banal like falling. She imbues everyday movements with profound symbolism and once again pushes the dancers to expose themselves to superhuman exertion. Their well-deserved reward: long-lasting applause, standing ovations, cheers. (Natacha Olbrich, Wiesbadener Kurier, November 18, 2025)

“Gravity” ... is once again astonishingly imaginative, even though

it is mainly about falling. ... One might think that the subject of gravity would quickly be exhausted. But Rafaële Giovanola knows how to keep the tension high (once again, as in “Sphynx”).

By slowing down to slow motion at times, then picking up the pace again. ... And the theme does not leave you cold; associations arise when you see people landing more or less abruptly on the floor. (Sylvia Staude Frankfurter Rundschau, 11/18/2025)

All expectations one might have had of a dancemainz exploration of this central theme of dance were more than fulfilled. For gravity strikes mercilessly in the 55 minutes of this production, which are bursting with energy. This is expressed in a movement that Giovanola also has up his sleeve in other contexts: falling. What is usually an exceptional situation in dance, as in the rest of life, and mostly unintentional, becomes an event here. ... The highlight of the stage: everything takes place at floor level in the middle of the hall ... this arena seating opens up a whole new dynamic of shared experience and a very good view for everyone from close up. What permeates the entire evening ... is a fascinating play with energy and its transmission. ... An immersive theater experience that is ostentatiously celebrated at the premiere. (Claus Ambrosius, Rhein-Zeitung, 11/17/2025)

The variations on dealing with gravity that choreographer Rafaële Giovanola comes up with are extremely exciting. The ability to translate thought experiments into captivating dance has shaped the international reputation of Swiss choreographer Rafaële Giovanola. The founder of the Bonn-based company CocoonDance was the ensemble's first choice for a piece in dance director Hone Dohrmann's penultimate season. ... Her new piece is dedicated to the pitfalls of unpredictable gravity and depicts falling as a fundamental part of human existence. ... Falling becomes the new normal – and moving close to the ground becomes the new group challenge. ... Driven by the pulsating, ever-faster rhythmic dancefloor sounds of Portuguese musician Tiago Cerqueira, the dancers take up falling as a new challenge. ... The pressure affects everyone equally, but it is in the moments of cohesion that resilience against the dominant force of gravity grows until the impressive final image. (Isabelle von Neumann-Cosel, tanznetz.de, accessed: 11/23/2025)