Dance Performance: It's the End of the Amusement Phase

"It’s the End of the Amusement Phase " by dancer and choreographer Chara Kotsali brings an aesthetic of abrupt leaps and interruptions to the stage. With intense physical exertion, three performers move from an aerobics class to a mass event and, through ritual dances, into cheerleading. They smash a birthday cake. They spray themselves with fake blood. The central question of the evening: What comes after the time of amusement, when laughter suddenly gets stuck in your throat? In addition to choreographing *It’s the End of the Amusement Phase*, Chara Kotsali also provides the soundtrack for a possible phase that follows in the form of a poetry slam. In it, revolutionary events intersect with the performers’ personal histories. A reminder that history does not unfold linearly, but that we ourselves help shape its logic.