'Sin and Hell and the mystery of damnation. We have to go through it, like Death. Woe to the one who flees from the terrible secret of the darkness. You have to take it upon yourself.' (Béla Hamvas)
We have often heard that Heaven and Hell are somewhere in the hereafter, in an unknown place: Heaven somewhere in the clouds, Hell somewhere in a secret, subterranean cave. Perhaps this is so. But they are both also within us, and we experience them in our everyday lives. I could also say that everyone creates their own personal Heaven and Hell, and that the reverse can also be true. The battle between the Heaven and the Hell within us is what shapes us. Hell is just as close to us as God’s dominion. Hell belongs to our everyday consciousness. Hell is to be sought in the illusion of the everyday, in human thought. Hell cannot be banished from our consciousness. If we attempt to do so, as European civilisation under the control of the Church has done, then there are unforeseeable consequences. The Christian story of Europe is the story of Hell’s presence in the world. The Hell suppressed in our subconscious is externalised in our everyday lives. This is the story of a Christian civilisation unwilling to acknowledge the dark side of consciousness. The solution is thorough knowledge and understanding.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is a great work because it expresses ideas that remain valid to this day; indeed, its message has scarcely ever been as important as it is now. The desire to find a universal common spirit which spans national boundaries, which transcends religion and cultural differences, has perhaps never been so timely as it is now, when the image of global economic union appears a genuine vision of the future. The kindling together of human spirits and minds in unison, and the power and harmony of thoughts moving in one direction, is the long-cherished desire of every humanist thinker. Is this too optimistic? Could such an intellectual and spiritual unison change our world and our everyday lives? I believe that it could. (Tamás Juronics)

A joint production of the Szeged Contemporary Ballet and the National Dance Theatre

Sponsors: Local Government of the County Town of Szeged, Szeged National Theatre, Tisza Volán, Novotel Hotel Szeged, NKA.

Media sponsors: Rádió88, Délmagyarország, Café PR Kft., Marie Claire, Look Up, E-Press, Fidelio, Független Hírügynökség, Magyar Színházi Portál, Táncélet.hu

Presented by: National Dance Theatre