JAAP BLONK celebrates DADA 100 YEARS


The year 2016 is the Dada Centennial. In February of 1916 the Dada movement started with the first soirees at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, Switzerland.

Dada sound poetry, along with free improvisation, is at the roots of Blonk's vocal practice and he is very happy to go back to it this year and perform his favorite Dada poems worldwide.

The performance also includes work by some precursors, such as Christian Morgenstern, and from some contemporary movements: Russian Futurism represented by Velimir Khlebnikov, and Italian Futurism by Tommaso Marinetti.

Central figure of course is Kurt Schwitters, featuring some short poems and parts of his famous Ursonate. Also present is his Dutch friend Theo van Doesburg.

Then, there are excursions to Surrealism (Antonin Artaud) and Fluxus (Dick Higgins), and some of Jaap Blonk's own Dada-inspired work.