Every time you take your phone out of your pocket you hold a small pile of sand in your hand.

In that moment, you are connected with the history of a material that spans thousands of years and miles. And its story is as urgent as ever.

Materials like silk, sugar and sand have connected people across cultures, religions, continents and times. They have built empires and toppled rulers. They are much more than just what we see or hold in our hands. The history of the world and humanity unfolds in a grain of sand, in a lump of sugar or a thread of silk if we allow it to.

SILKE. SUKKER. SAND is a newly composed choir opera by Marie Dahl Assembly performed by five singers from the renowned and innovative Danish ensemble Ars Nova.  A work in three movements composed by international composers from China, Great Britain and Greenland, respectively, which are tied together in an electronic sound universe. In scenographic costumes, light and movement, the performance's visual journey takes us through the three materials. 

SILKE. SUKKER. SAND is the story of three materials that have left deep traces in our culture and everyday life. About the wounds of colonialism, industrialization and the destruction of ecosystems that are still open, yet do not whet our appetite. About the desire for luxury and pleasure, money, monopolies and power. About the beauty and inequality, wealth and poverty they have coursed.

The libretto and staging are created by director Marie Dahl, who after many years of close collaboration with Kirsten Dehlholm and the legendary performing arts company Hotel Pro Forma has now created her first of several independent pieces with Marie Dahl Assembly.