The Manoel Theatre is hosting ŻfinMalta’slatest performance, 21 Dances for the 21st Century, this weekend.

Borrowing its structure from the highly- acclaimed book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, by Yuval Noah Harari, the show offers reflections, and possible solutions, on pressing issues in the global contemporary culture and digital age, such as machine learning, AI and the extinction crisis. As this multi-layered dance piece unfolds, chapter by chapter, it traces the spirit of what it means to live now and the challenges faced by humanity.

21 Dances for the 21st Century is the second full-length performance choreographed by ŻfinMalta’s artistic director, Paolo Mangiola, in a collaboration with visual artist Kane Cali.

“After reading 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, I was inspired to further interrogate the questions posed by the author, through my own practice as a choreographer. The idea was to create a work which is ‘episodic’, like watching a series or browsing the internet,” Mangiola said.

“I also wanted the pace of the work to reflect the structure and rhythm of the book. I love the way Yuval Noah Harari gets us to think about the big topics – climate change, AI, immigration – and I wanted to challenge myself, the dancers and our collaborators, to ‘translate‘ these questions into dance, ultimately creating a parallel platform for thinking that the book provides.”

The 70-minute performance includes an original score by Veronique Vella and costumes by Luke Azzopardi.

21 Dances for the 21st Century is taking place on Saturday and Sunday at 8pm. For more information, visit www.teatrumanoel.org.mt.