Tanzhaus Zürich residency guest Layton Lachman is in the nascent stages of creating a new choreography together with Ivanka Tramp and Caroline Neill Alexander. The work is initially inspired by the myth of the Fountain of Youth, which references springs or pools of water that restore youth to the drinker or bather. These stories of flowing fonts of eternal youth have been heard all over the world and found in Greek writing as early as the 5th Century BC. "For me, this myth is exemplary of the way in which humans engage in wildly imaginative storytelling – an expression of consciousness and creativity that shapes our collective existence," Layton says. "Myths mould our understanding of what is possible – our origin, our identity, our behavior and cultural structuring, as well as our future." This particular myth could also be understood as a proto-science fiction narrative of life extension and immortality. "Consequently, I will explore the classical myth of the Fountain of Youth in this artwork, as well as what I consider to be contemporary iterations of the same narrative.

The work-in-progress sharing will be followed by a short audience discussion.