This double-bill programme presents two very unique projects. The first part features Greek artist Myrgon with a ritual performance using raw clay as an extension of his body. Drawing on ancestral practices, Myrgon works at the threshold between sculpture, movement and ritual, blurring the boundaries between body and landscape. Myrgon’s performance will be accompanied by the live recital of George Crumb’s ground breaking string quartet Black Angels. The second part of the programme is a collaboration between Spanish artist Oscar Rodríguez and ŻfinMalta, combining contemporary dance with the visual backdrop of a sand sculpture. Choreographed by Matthew William Robinson, the dancers interact with the sculpture, altering its aesthetics in real time. Inspired by the mythical maze designed by Daedalus to imprison the Minotaur, the performance evokes a transitory landscape of myth and movement. Programme
Myrgon
George Crumb Black Angels (1970)
Thirteen Images from the Dark Land
for amplified string quartet
I. Departure (Fall from Grace)
Threnody I: Night of the Electric Insects; Sounds of
Bones and Flutes; Lost Bells; Devil-music; Danse Macabre
II. Absence (Spiritual Annihilation)
Pavana Lachrymae (Der Tod und das Mädchen); Threnody II: Black Angels!; Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura; Lost Bells (Echo)
III. Return (Redemption)
God-music; Ancient Voices; Ancient Voices (Echo);
Threnody III: Night of the Electric Insects
Labyrinth ŻfinMalta - choreographed by Matthew William Robinson
sand sculpture by Oscar Rodríguez
Credits
HearAndNow Collective Emma Roijackers - violin
Joseph Puglia - violin
Constance Pharoah - viola
Sebastiaan Joseph van Halsema - cello
Myrgon Grigorios Myrgiots
ŻfinMalta Matthew William Robinson - choreographer
Mario Manara - choreographic Assistant
Zoe Camilleri - costume Designer
Sand sculpture Oscar Rodríguez Vila
Programme Notes
Myrgon
Greek artist Myrgon works at the threshold between sculpture, dance and ritual, using raw clay as an extension of the living body. In his performances, the material slowly coats his skin, erasing familiar contours and inviting the audience to witness a body in continuous becoming. What begins as a simple gesture of covering becomes a wordless narrative about vulnerability, protection and metamorphosis, where each layer of earth both conceals and reveals. Drawing on ancestral practices and the mythic image of humanity shaped from clay, Myrgon reimagines the performer as a moving sculpture, equally fragile and monumental. Breath, weight and touch guide the choreography, as clay cracks, slips and reforms, leaving traces of the action on both skin and ground. The result is an intimate, time‑based tableau that blurs the boundaries between body and land, performer and landscape.
Black Angels (1970) - George Crumb
Composed during the Vietnam War, George Crumb’s Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land radically expands the conventions of the string quartet, turning the ensemble into a theatre of sound. Written for amplified instruments, the piece magnifies every gesture: bow hair scratches, tapping on wood, whispered glissandi and eerie sul ponticello all become central musical material rather than special effects. The players whistle, shout numbers in different languages and retune their strings, constantly destabilising any sense of normal sonority. Crumb asks the musicians to play with thimbles on the strings, to produce bell‑like harmonics and to bow on unconventional parts of the instrument, creating ghostly clusters and insect‑like textures. Percussive instruments and crystal glasses further erode the boundary between string quartet and sound installation. In Black Angels, extended technique is not an ornament but the main expressive language, embodying the work’s themes of war, alienation and a precarious search for transcendence.
Labyrinth - ŻfinMalta, sand sculpture by Oscar Rodríguez
The Malta International Arts Festival presents Labyrinth - connecting contemporary dance with the visual backdrop of a sand sculpture. This collaboration between Spanish artist Oscar Rodríguez and ŻfinMalta Artistic Director Matthew William Robinson evokes a transitory landscape of myth and movement, inspired by the mythical maze designed by Daedalus to imprison the Minotaur. The dancers of ŻfinMalta interact with the sand sculpture, tracing patterns of curiosity and liberation, altering the sculpture’s form in real time. This transformation becomes part of the choreography - a metaphor for impermanence and metamorphosis. At the intersection of myth and matter, the Labyrinth invites both performers and spectators to reconsider space as a living organism. It is an artistic expression that erodes and reforms.
Biographies
Oscar Rodríguez Vila - sand sculptor
Oscar Rodríguez Vila is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist driven by curiosity and creative exploration. As an interior designer, he has created spaces for a wide range of clients - from private and public institutions to theatre productions. His work often extends into public interventions, particularly within the political and symbolic landscapes of international borders. In his ongoing project Migratory Tides, he explores boundaries between the so-called first and third worlds, with installations at borders such as the USA - Mexico and Europe - Africa divides. For over two decades, Rodríguez Vila has devoted himself to ephemeral sculpture, working with sand, snow and ice in 34 countries across four continents. His desire to navigate multiple artistic languages has also led him to specialise in animation and documentary filmmaking.
Matthew William Robinson - choreographer
Matthew William Robinson joined ŻfinMalta National Dance Company as Artistic Director in 2024. A practicing artist from the United Kingdom, he works internationally as a choreographer, curator and artistic leader. His work and curated programmes have toured widely across Europe and beyond, and he has commissioned more than 60 new creations by artists from around the world. Robinson’s choreographic practice investigates contradiction and complex emotion through dynamic, physically charged movement. He frequently collaborates across disciplines, integrating sound, fashion, theatre, visual arts and technology. A former member and Rehearsal Director of Scottish Dance Theatre, he performed works by leading choreographers including Sharon Eyal, Damien Jalet, and Hofesh Shechter. From 2016 to 2021 he directed VERVE, strengthening the company’s reputation for bold commissioning and exceptional training. He then led National Dance Company Wales (2021–2025), before taking on ŻfinMalta’s artistic direction, curating ambitious new programmes and collaborations.
ŻfinMalta
ŻfinMalta is a home for groundbreaking artistic collaborations that centre movement as a transformative force in our world, engaging a breadth of artistic voices from near and far to create visually striking, physically distinctive dance work, that captivates the imagination of audiences nationally and internationally. Embedded within the artistic ecology of the nation, ŻfinMalta strives to highlight Malta as a vibrant cultural centre within the European landscape of artistic practice. The company forms part of the National Agency for the Performing Arts (NAPA) and is made up of ten full-time dancers and two apprentice dancers, hailing from Malta and across Europe. Behind the scenes is a highly skilled and passionate team of dance and arts professionals who bring to the company their expansive knowledge of the local and international contemporary art world. Combined, they make up a repertory dance company which is fast gaining recognition and a reputation on the European touring circuit. In collaboration with NAPA & ŻfinMalta
