Cosmic Odyssey of the Imagination

ImpulsTanz [ENA] With Transient Shifts, Akemi Takeya once again confirms her status as one of Vienna’s most boldly imaginative choreographic voices. This latest creation—part sci-fi ritual, part visual poem, part body-sonic journey—launches eight remarkable performers on an intergalactic voyage that is as wildly entertaining as it is philosophically provocative. It is drawing from her distinctive artistic philosophy of Lemonism.

Takeya blends irony, surrealism, and critical depth into a high-concept exploration of human transformation. The piece unfolds like a dream in motion: bodies mutate, morph, and dissolve in and out of formation, seemingly weightless yet deeply grounded in the physical realities of flesh, tension, and breath. The fictional planet Ayviss becomes not just a destination, but a metaphor for radical interior reimagination—a place where boundaries blur and identities fragment.

The choreography—elastic, explosive, and theatrically charged—oscillates between structured precision and kaleidoscopic improvisation. Vocals, digital soundscapes, and live music crash together with visual interventions that invoke both manga-inspired hyper-reality and performance art minimalism. It is Takeya’s refusal to resolve chaos into clarity that makes the piece so thrilling: we are meant to float, not land. Transient Shifts is a beautifully messy, conceptually rich plunge into the liminal space between reality and projection. Daring, poetic, and utterly unique, it stands as a testament to Takeya’s fearless commitment to the absurdity and beauty of transformation.