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 know 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 tension.
Delibes’ music gives rise to a soundscape blending orchestral music, a DJ, guitar and drums. The stage and the body are transformed into a laboratory for identity, autonomy and utopia.
The choreography moves 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