Silk. Sugar. Sand
New vocal performance in three movements
Five singers from Ars Nova Copenhagen perform a newly composed vocal piece in three movements, written by composers Tiange Zhou (China), Blasio Kavuma (UK), and Arnannguaq Gerstrøm (Greenland), accompanied by electronic music.
Each movement takes a different material as its point of departure – silk, sugar, and sand – and explores the history, materiality, and nature of raw materials that have shaped the development of the world.
With a minimalist scenography, Marie Dahl creates a strong visual and sensory expression: the singers sit on tall chairs wearing large sculptural costumes in three layers, functioning as both costume and scenography.
Between each movement, a layer is loosened and falls to the floor, revealing a new materiality, a new time, and a new place, while the remnants of history accumulate in the space.
The lighting design acts as a central element in shaping space and dynamics, and the choreography unfolds Marie Dahl’s stylized and allegorical stage expression.
Silk and sugar were among the imported goods from non-Western countries that secured Europe wealth and power. The wounds of colonisation and industrialisation are still felt today—politically, socially, and environmentally. Since the early 20th century, the extraction and trade of sand have continued this history. Today, sand is the second most consumed natural resource in the world and plays an increasingly significant geopolitical role—currently, for example, in relation to the United States and Greenland.
A story across time and geography
The libretto moves across time and geography in a unified narrative, taking as its point of departure the heyday of the three materials—from 5000 BCE to the present day.
The history of silk begins in China and follows its importance in the emergence of global trade and the connections between continents, cultures, and religions—and the European desire for luxury goods, which became a driving force behind colonisation.
The history of sugar moves from Indian production traditions to Portuguese plantations in Brazil, the transatlantic slave trade, devastated ecosystems, and industrialisation. It encompasses the horrors of the plantations and their traces in the present, as well as contemporary dependency and its health consequences.
Sand forms the final movement of the work: a story of a millennia-long process of formation, and of the role of glass and concrete in the history of civilisation. It tells of a resource we perceive as infinite, yet which is running out—and of humanity’s inability to learn from history.
Through text, music, and staging, the performance opens up both similarities and differences in these historical contexts, where humanity’s desire for the beautiful, the sweet, and the monumental runs as a common thread.
INFO
Performance dates:
30 July 2026 – PREMIERE
31 July + 1 August 2026
Venue: The Culture Yard, Main Stage | Allégade 2, 3000 Helsingør
Duration: approx. 70 min. | Age: 14+
Language: English
TICKET PERFORMANCE
Single Ticket Price: 90 DKK (Adults) | 60 DKK (Children up to 14 years)
Click the TICKET icon to the right: next to TIME + LOCATION or buy a festival-wristband and get free tickets to all ticket-performances. There are different categories of wristbands – for groups/families or individuals.
READ MORE and buy PASSAGE FESTIVAL WRISTBAND HERE
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Marie Dahl Assembly is a new artistic company founded by director Marie Dahl and producer Lisbeth Jacobi. The company creates works where music, narrative, and interdisciplinary aesthetics meet in a contemporary, sensory expression. The company is rooted in Dahl and Jacobi’s shared background at Hotel Pro Forma.
www.mariedahlassembly.com
CREDITS
ARTISTIC TEAM
Concept, Direction, Dramaturgy and Choreography: Marie Dahl (DK)
Vocal compositions:
Tiange Zhou (China)
Blasio Kavuma (UK)
Arnannguaq Gerstrøm (Greenland)
Electronic composition: Wilhelm Gustaf Ljunggren Dahl
Libretto: Marie Dahl
Performers:
5 singers – Ars Nova Copenhagen (mixed voices)
Conductor: Jesper Nordin
Lighting design: Jesper Kongshaug
Costumes: Ari Lin Sixten & Maja Lind Ziska
Scenography: Maja Lind Ziska
Producer: Lisbeth Jacobi
Silk. Sugar. Sand is presented in collaboration with The Culture Yard and Helsingør Teater as part of Passage Festival 2026.
The premiere takes place in connection with Helsingør’s 600 year anniversary as a chartered market town – a historical framework that gives the work’s narrative about trade and raw materials a particular resonance.
SUPPORTED BY
The performance is supported by The Danish Arts Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, the Beckett Foundation, the Knud Højgaard Foundation, the Louis-Hansen Foundation, the Danish Musicians’ Union, and the William Demant Foundation
New vocal performance in three movements
Five singers from Ars Nova Copenhagen perform a newly composed vocal piece in three movements, written by composers Tiange Zhou (China), Blasio Kavuma (UK), and Arnannguaq Gerstrøm (Greenland), accompanied by electronic music.
Each movement takes a different material as its point of departure – silk, sugar, and sand – and explores the history, materiality, and nature of raw materials that have shaped the development of the world.
With a minimalist scenography, Marie Dahl creates a strong visual and sensory expression: the singers sit on tall chairs wearing large sculptural costumes in three layers, functioning as both costume and scenography.
Between each movement, a layer is loosened and falls to the floor, revealing a new materiality, a new time, and a new place, while the remnants of history accumulate in the space.
The lighting design acts as a central element in shaping space and dynamics, and the choreography unfolds Marie Dahl’s stylized and allegorical stage expression.
Silk and sugar were among the imported goods from non-Western countries that secured Europe wealth and power. The wounds of colonisation and industrialisation are still felt today—politically, socially, and environmentally. Since the early 20th century, the extraction and trade of sand have continued this history. Today, sand is the second most consumed natural resource in the world and plays an increasingly significant geopolitical role—currently, for example, in relation to the United States and Greenland.
A story across time and geography
The libretto moves across time and geography in a unified narrative, taking as its point of departure the heyday of the three materials—from 5000 BCE to the present day.
The history of silk begins in China and follows its importance in the emergence of global trade and the connections between continents, cultures, and religions—and the European desire for luxury goods, which became a driving force behind colonisation.
The history of sugar moves from Indian production traditions to Portuguese plantations in Brazil, the transatlantic slave trade, devastated ecosystems, and industrialisation. It encompasses the horrors of the plantations and their traces in the present, as well as contemporary dependency and its health consequences.
Sand forms the final movement of the work: a story of a millennia-long process of formation, and of the role of glass and concrete in the history of civilisation. It tells of a resource we perceive as infinite, yet which is running out—and of humanity’s inability to learn from history.
Through text, music, and staging, the performance opens up both similarities and differences in these historical contexts, where humanity’s desire for the beautiful, the sweet, and the monumental runs as a common thread.
INFO
Performance dates:
30 July 2026 – PREMIERE
31 July + 1 August 2026
Venue: The Culture Yard, Main Stage | Allégade 2, 3000 Helsingør
Duration: approx. 70 min. | Age: 14+
Language: English
TICKET PERFORMANCE
Single Ticket Price: 90 DKK (Adults) | 60 DKK (Children up to 14 years)
Click the TICKET icon to the right: next to TIME + LOCATION or buy a festival-wristband and get free tickets to all ticket-performances. There are different categories of wristbands – for groups/families or individuals.
READ MORE and buy PASSAGE FESTIVAL WRISTBAND HERE
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Marie Dahl Assembly is a new artistic company founded by director Marie Dahl and producer Lisbeth Jacobi. The company creates works where music, narrative, and interdisciplinary aesthetics meet in a contemporary, sensory expression. The company is rooted in Dahl and Jacobi’s shared background at Hotel Pro Forma.
www.mariedahlassembly.com
CREDITS
ARTISTIC TEAM
Concept, Direction, Dramaturgy and Choreography: Marie Dahl (DK)
Vocal compositions:
Tiange Zhou (China)
Blasio Kavuma (UK)
Arnannguaq Gerstrøm (Greenland)
Electronic composition: Wilhelm Gustaf Ljunggren Dahl
Libretto: Marie Dahl
Performers:
5 singers – Ars Nova Copenhagen (mixed voices)
Conductor: Jesper Nordin
Lighting design: Jesper Kongshaug
Costumes: Ari Lin Sixten & Maja Lind Ziska
Scenography: Maja Lind Ziska
Producer: Lisbeth Jacobi
Silk. Sugar. Sand is presented in collaboration with The Culture Yard and Helsingør Teater as part of Passage Festival 2026.
The premiere takes place in connection with Helsingør’s 600 year anniversary as a chartered market town – a historical framework that gives the work’s narrative about trade and raw materials a particular resonance.
SUPPORTED BY
The performance is supported by The Danish Arts Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, the Beckett Foundation, the Knud Højgaard Foundation, the Louis-Hansen Foundation, the Danish Musicians’ Union, and the William Demant Foundation