Heat Island
concept, choreography, direction: Chiara Bartl-Salvi
with: Chihiro Araki, Chiara Bartl-Salvi, Elena Francalanci
sound design: Paul Ebhart
voice: Chiara Bartl-Salvi
stage and shoes: Patrick Winkler
light design: Oskar Ott
choral composition 1: Leon Leder
choral composition 2: Amar Priganica
duration: 45’
premiere: Tanzquartier Wien, 2025
production: Chiara Bartl-Salvi
co-production: Tanzquartier Wien, Toihaus Theater Salzburg
supported by: Gerriets, Tanzquartier Wien, Toihaus Theater Salzburg
“Heat Island” brings the urban space into the venue, transforming it through rhythm, friction, sparks, and sound into a pulsating field of possibility. A sealed “asphalt” ground, the roar of traffic, and the distant chirping of crickets evoke ecological fractures that disrupt ecosystems and demand adaptation. Rather than retreating, three performers scrape away layers of ground with specially prepared shoes, turning friction into the engine of choreography, sound, and light. The performance oscillates between collective rhythm and fragmented gesture, bet ween pop-cultural references and abstract physical states. Sparks carve fleeting traces across the surface, marks of memory, while the live soundscape shifts from precise rhythmic pulses reminiscent of street traffic and car engines to overheated, dissolving atmospheres. “Heat Island” is both a reflection on urban temporality and a choreography of friction and transformation.
Chiara Bartl-Salvi is a choreographer, performer, and visual artist based in Vienna. She studied Fine Art and Media at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where she developed a strong interest in space, objects, and stage architectures that continues to shape her artistic practice today. Her work explores the interplay between movement, sound, and material within the context of temporality and fragility.
...In “Heat Island”, Chiara Bartl-Salvi directs her and our gaze toward the ground, turning it into an active partner rather than a passive pedestal. With specially prepared shoes, together with her co-performers, she scrapes across the asphalt, letting sparks fly without succumbing to mere spectacle…Instead of pessimism, an uncanny sense of delight flickers between the sparks, a force from which energy can be drawn to move through ever hotter nights.
© Tanzquartier Wien
The performance trio slips into sneakers, spark-producing shoes, and flip-flops, moving across rough terrain and glossy surfaces. Strictly synchronized trio scenes in triangular formations, intricate footwork, playful solos, and confident TikTok references unfold in loops of repetition. The joy of movement, and the self assurance it generates, can be replayed a thousand times, like a short TikTok video, yet it never loses its brilliance or impact.
© Magazin53a
