ANTHOLOGY
Etymology
[Anthology comes from the Greek anthología: flower gathering — a collection.]
Anthology is a dynamic performance highlighting one simple movement: skipping.
Five dancers enter the stage and create a rhythmic vortex of movement. Driven by mash-ups of pop songs from the past decade, they propel the audience into a celebratory journey through music, dance and memories.
The choreography is built on annual mash-ups of popular music. These fast-paced tracks combine dozens of hit songs into one continuous flow. In a similar way, Anthology blends references to dance styles, internet culture and popular imagery. It explores the origins of skipping and its various applications throughout dance history – from folk dance to ballet, from club dance to hip-hop.
Skipping becomes the central thread connecting everything. Through an ever-shifting stream of footwork, rhythms and gestures, the stage transforms into an arena of movement — at times resembling an ice-skating rink, a sports field or a ballroom. Dance histories briefly appear, collide and dissolve again.
Through resilience and melancholy, Anthology proposes a practice of moving through an overload of information, in a rapidly changing society driven by exhaustion. In this energetic landscape, the performance explores how pop culture functions as a shared rhythm of our time — a living archive that connects generations through movement, music and collective memory.
Pop Anthologies
The musical inspiration for this piece comes from a phenomenon that gained popularity in the 2010s: annual pop mash-ups on streaming platforms.
These tracks celebrate the most recognizable songs of the year by blending them into a single composition. Often combining 80 to 150 songs within 6 to 10 minutes, they compress an entire year of pop music into one fast-paced listening experience.
The result is both exhilarating and disorienting. Familiar songs appear only briefly before melting into the next, creating a hybrid musical landscape where memories overlap and collide.
These musical anthologies capture the rhythm of contemporary culture: constant movement, endless information and a continuous push forward.
In Anthology, skipping becomes a physical way of navigating this world — a practice of staying in motion within an overwhelming stream of images, sounds and histories.
The Skipping Trilogy – Methodology
Choreographer Andreas Hannes has been exploring skipping as a choreographic practice since 2017. Earlier works such as The City and Tremble focused on the minimal, hypnotic and structural qualities of the movement.
With Anthology, the practice expands. While the formal precision of skipping remains, the choreography introduces more elaborate footwork, gestures and rhythmic shifts.
Instead of a steady cadence, the choreography follows the dramatic structure of the mash-up music: sudden tempo changes, unexpected transitions and rhythmic collisions.
Drawing on his musical background, Andreas approaches the pop tracks almost like classical compositions. The choreography responds to their structure — playing with harmony, contrast and timing.
Through this dialogue between body and music, Anthology reveals the joy, endurance and resilience embedded in movement.
Skipping
Skipping is a movement almost everyone knows.
Most people first encounter it in childhood — skipping down the street, across a playground or through a backyard. It is playful, rhythmic and instinctive.
Throughout history, similar bouncing steps have appeared in many dance traditions: folk dances, street styles, club culture and stage choreography.
In Andreas’ work, skipping becomes a tool to explore rhythm, space and connection. By changing speed, direction and intensity, the movement creates patterns and architectural shapes in space.
What seems like a simple step gradually unfolds into a complex language of rhythm and coordination.