Coppelia – A Mechanical Dream

A dance evening by Wagner Moreira with orchestral music and DJ beats by Jarii van Gohl | World premiere

Léo Delibes’ classic ballet *Coppélia* or *The Girl with the Glass Eyes* from 1870 tells the story of Franz, who falls in love with Coppélia. Franz does not realise that she is a mechanical doll created by the inventor Dr Coppélius. Like the other villagers, he believes her to be human. It is only Franz’s fiancée, Swanilda, who uncovers the truth: she disguises herself as Coppélia and thereby shows Franz that true love is more important than a perfect illusion.

Wagner Moreira reimagines Coppélia : blending club culture, orchestral sound and urban dance, he creates a vibrant hybrid of contemporary dance, classical ballet and
mechanical forms of movement. At the heart of the evening are characters who defy normative categorisations: an autistic inventor who communicates through rhythm rather than language, a doll capable of perfectly mimicking human movements, and a couple whose love is put to a severe test. Human and machine, creation and projection, imperfection and love find themselves caught in a poetic field of tension.
Delibes’ music gives rise to a soundscape blending orchestral music, a DJ, guitar and percussion. The stage and the body are transformed into a laboratory for identity, autonomy and utopia.
The choreography oscillates between precise repetition and organic movement, between structure and dissolution. The result is a sensual and political evening of dance exploring the beauty of imperfection – and the freedom to reinvent oneself.
What does it mean to be human today – in a world increasingly shaped by mechanisms, projections and standardised images?

• Haus Görlitz, Main Hall
• Dance