Jonathon Young & Crystal Pite | Betroffenheit

A genre-defying piece of dance theatre that has stunned critics and audiences.

Created by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young, the award-winning Betroffenheit is a boundary-stretching hybrid of theatre and dance that explores the psychological states of trauma, grief and addiction.

The title of the piece is a German word that roughly translates as a state of shock, bewilderment or dismay. Betroffenheit is based on Young's own experience - his teenage daughter, niece and nephew died in a fire whilst on a family holiday in 2009.
Combining tap, salsa, spoken word, song and puppetry with Pite's emotionally charged choreography, Betroffenheit is a witty and tender-hearted exploration of disconnection, isolation and what it means to come to terms with life’s tragic.

Five astonishing performers create the mindscape of Young's tormented central character as he moves from despair towards the hope of recovery. Powerfully staged, the result is a genre-defying piece of dance theatre that has stunned critics and audiences.

“raw, funny and profoundly, tenderly human." The Independent

Worldwide release in September 2019
Cat. No.: 109416 (DVD) | 109417 (Blu-ray)

Genre Dance theatre
Recording location Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London
Production year 2017
Duration 106 mins
Video format DVD / NTSC
Audio format PCM Stereo
Production Company Kidd Pivot, Electric Company Theatre, 3 Minutes West, BBC
Choreography by Crystal Pite, Jonathon Young
Soloist Bryan Arias, Christopher Hernandez, David Raymod, Cindy Salgado, Jermaine Spivey, Tiffany Tregarthen, Jonathon Young