Carmen is the symbol of freedom. Her story is the drama of inextinguishable, uninhibited love.

"Carmen's story, the characters' world of extreme emotions and Bizet's music is very powerful Wherever I go, I take the place, the culture, the faces and the momentswith me forever.

The experiences come with me, just as we also take the past with us. What is my present today will become my past tomorrow. But which is the second that separates the two?

What if we could travel not only to a Mediterranean region but whenchoosing a destination we could also decide whether we want to move forward or backward in time and whose path should cross ours? If the possibility of this is invented once, does this time machinealready exist somewhere?

With her flamenco dance performance, Zsófia Pirók invites us to a journey where only our imagination can set the limit for the venues of stops. We can travel in time, space and between cultures, while the paths of others cross ours, but we can even meet ourselves in another era. To where would you buy a ticket?

If we look outward, we can feel our fate being cut by constant limits, butif we look inward, we can really feel that the possibility of inner travel is endless. and inspiring. For me, the main inspiration comes from the sharp shifts between the story and the music. I find the characters' unpredictability and their explosive tempers, which are the result of their overwhelmed emotions, intriguing. How is it possible to be thrown to the edge of madness from a state of idyllic harmony from one moment to the next?

How is it possible for passion to take completely over from rationality? Where does the primeval force that drives them to tragedy originate? Why is it impossible to fight it?

Where are the boundaries between love, passion and possession? Is passionate love basically a state of madness? This is a fantastic opportunity for the depiction of Carmen's sensuality and for interpreting the wild swings of her feelings through dance. The greatest challenge for the artist and the dancer, I believe, is the formation of Don José's complex character, and bringing to life the changes of his character. For me, he is the central figure and the real drama is his.

He is a straightforward, honest, pure-hearted man, whose character is turned completely inside out by the obsessive love he feels for Carmen. His honesty is defeated by his passion, until it drives him so mad, that he commits the gravest crime by taking Carmen's life since she would not be his. Don José's internal battle is a passionate man-drama. This is what I wish to depict on stage.” - Balázs Vincze

Place: National Dance Theatre Budapest

Address: 1024 Budapest, Kis Rókus u. 16-20.