Crystal Pite’s Betroffenheit: A Haunting Dance-Theatre Hybrid at Sadler’s Wells
What does it mean to be struck speechless by grief? To be so overcome that even language fails? The German word Betroffenheit attempts to capture this state—a raw, stunned bewilderment in the wake of catastrophe. For choreographer Crystal Pite and actor-writer Jonathon Young, this elusive feeling became the foundation for one of the most acclaimed works of 21st-century performance: Betroffenheit.
First performed in 2015 and filmed at London's Sadler’s Wells during a sold-out run, this Olivier Award-winning production blends contemporary dance with theatre, voice, and even vaudeville. It is a work born from devastating real-life loss—Young’s daughter, niece, and nephew died in a cabin fire in 2009—and yet, through its haunting beauty and relentless creativity, Betroffenheit transforms trauma into something transcendent.
The Power of Collaboration: Pite and Young
At the heart of Betroffenheit is a remarkable artistic partnership. Crystal Pite, best known for her emotionally resonant movement language and her company Kidd Pivot, brings a choreographer’s keen instinct for visual storytelling. Jonathon Young, co-founder of Vancouver’s Electric Company Theatre, provides the dramaturgical skeleton and spoken text, drawing directly from his own experience of loss.
Together, they build a world where the boundaries between mind and stage blur. Their creative approach—fusing monologue, movement, and multimedia—creates a layered performance that inhabits both internal psychological landscapes and external theatrical space.
A Journey Through the Mind
The performance begins in a sterile, institutional room. A man—Young himself—sits alone, wracked with guilt, spiraling through repetitive speech patterns and fragmented memories. Around him, a chorus of dancer-characters (Cindy Salgado, Jermaine Spivey, Tiffany Tregarthen, David Raymond, Bryan Arias) enacts the chaos of his psyche. Their bodies jerk and spin like marionettes; their voices echo his inner torment.
The audience is plunged into a world of compulsions, addictions, and flashbacks. Here, movement replaces speech when language no longer suffices. Pite’s choreography is alternately mechanical and fluid, grotesque and graceful—a metaphor for emotional paralysis and release.
Theatrical Surrealism and Shifting Realities
What makes Betroffenheit so unforgettable is its daring theatricality. This is not just a dance piece with spoken word, nor a play with movement. It is a true hybrid, and one that embraces surrealism with gusto.
Puppetry, clowning, tap-dance interludes, Latin rhythms, and vintage microphone banter all appear—sometimes absurdly funny, sometimes painfully ironic. A mid-show scene resembles a cabaret from the mind of David Lynch, where trauma is dressed up in sequins and showbiz tropes.
These jarring shifts in tone mirror the disorientation of grief. At times, you don't know whether to laugh or cry—and that's the point. Trauma, after all, doesn’t unfold neatly. It’s jagged, repetitive, surreal.
Critical Acclaim and Awards
Since its premiere, Betroffenheit has been lauded by critics and audiences alike. The Guardian called it “searingly powerful,” while The Times described it as “harrowing and extraordinary.” It won the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production and received the Outstanding Performance in Modern Dance at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.
These accolades are not just a testament to technical brilliance, but to the work’s emotional depth and formal innovation. Few contemporary dance works manage to be both this intellectually rigorous and deeply moving.
Why Watch Betroffenheit Now?
Streaming on Marquee.tv, Betroffenheit offers an opportunity to engage with a seminal work of contemporary dance—one that challenges genre definitions and confronts themes of grief, addiction, and healing with rare honesty. For viewers new to dance-theatre, it’s a powerful introduction to what the medium can achieve. For seasoned fans, it’s a masterclass in interdisciplinary performance.
In a time when many are grappling with personal and collective trauma, the piece remains urgently relevant. It doesn’t offer easy answers or redemption—but it does offer catharsis. As Crystal Pite has said, “You have to look at the monster before you can tame it.”
Final Thoughts
Betroffenheit is more than a performance—it’s an experience. Through their fearless collaboration, Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young have created a work that dares to enter the darkest recesses of the mind and return with something deeply humane.
Whether you come for the Olivier Award-winning choreography, the psychological intensity, or the sheer genre-defying boldness, this is a performance you will not forget.