Marco Goecke is one of the most interesting dance makers of our time. From the get go, Goecke set out to create a choreographic language entirely independent of the classical technique and he continues forward in his artistic pursuit without compromise. Confronting audiences with clusters of frenetic and electrically charged movement patterns, his work often appears erratic and overwhelming at first glance. But, like all good works of art, upon deeper inspection, Goecke’s complex imagery entices through the uniqueness of its inner governance, perhaps hinting at a darker, more unspoken aspect of our shared human nature.

Created for the State Ballet School of Berlin in 2015, «All Long Dem Day» finds a perfect partner in crime with Nina Simone’s 1956 rendition of «Sinnerman». Originally a traditional African American spiritual song inspired by the book of Exodus, the lyrics describe a sinner attempting to hide from divine justice on Judgement Day. Simone often chose the song to close her early appearances in New York City’s Greenwich Village: “I want to shake people up so bad that when they leave a nightclub where I’ve performed, I want them to be in pieces.” Pairing Simone’s cries for forgiveness from transgression with Goecke’s explosive movement fragments, the relentlessness of «All Long Dem Day» reminds us that change is not only important but necessary to repair the social, moral and political ties that wither with the passage of time.

World Premiere on 13th July 2015 by the State Ballet School Berlin

1st Performance by the BJBM on 23rd June 2023 as part of the Bavarian State Ballet's "SPHERES.01 | Goecke" program in Prinzregententheater