"if time is infinite, then we are in no point in time. if space is infinite then we are at no point in space" - j. l. borges

in Jorge Luis Borges’ short story, The Book of Sand (1975), we find a mysterious book, that, like the sand, neither has a beginning, nor an end. pages literally multiply between the pages, and once you open the book you never encounter the same content in it. “the number of pages in this book is exactly infinite. no page is the first; none the last. i don’t know why they’re numbered in this arbitrary way. perhaps it’s to demonstrate that an infinite series includes any number.”

 

conceptualized & directed by alina sokulska, the book of sand has been conceived as a multidisciplinary macromodular performance project, that sets body/movement as its central medium in a spontaneous composition dialogue between choreography, visual art, and music. proposing a reading of the Borgesian concept of the infinite knowledge, the project reflects upon what, how, when, and until where is it, “to understand”? trying to figure out a formula to approach the liminal / erased identity in the accumulation dynamics of the DNA, the project’s pieces conjure up a corporeality that is set as a divination capsule thought at the same time as a place, a space, and an articulator of all possible narratives unfolding out of it. relying on the compositional tension between destination and accident, the oracles (interpreters) of the book of sand navigate between the binarities of memory – oblivion, expansion – fragmentation, accumulation – erasure, and abstraction – narration, setting the question of “how much of us is left?”

 

 

the book of sand has a modular structure, embracing the varied dramaturgies of the series of its pieces, with its elastic format permitting constant restructuring and playing with an idea of the format and duration. 

SUPPORT

Artist at Residence Munich, the Department of Culture of the City of Munich, Germany, 2023

GRANER Fábrica de Creació de Mercat de Flors, Barcelona, Spain, 2025

Espai la granja, Valencia, Spain, 2025

Can Gassol, Mataró, Spain, 2025

Nunart Guinardó, Barcelona, Spain, 2025

O Espaço do tempo, Montemoro-o-Novo, Portugal, 2026

Institut del Teatre Diputació de Barcelona, 2023-2026

MODULES / PIECES

RESEARCH THE F*CK OUT OF IT

[a lecture performance on the limits of knowledge]

conceived in the format of a lecture performance, “research the f*ck out of it” is born as a meta-piece within the umbrella project “the book of sand”. the performers attempt to unravel for the audience the complex, layered structure of their dance composition, using it as a formula to reveal the accumulation of the DNA and its connection to identity narratives. raising the topics of displacement and exile, encoded in the overwhelming accumulation of choreographic scores, the lecture invites the audience to establish a connection with an “alien other”, questioning: what? when? how? and to what extent does it mean to “understand”?

duration: 17 minutes to infinite

idea, direction, choreography: alina sokulska

choreographic assistance: Víctor Aicua

interpretation & co-creation: alina sokulska, Anna Viklund, Víctor Aicua

painting & drawing: THE BEAUTIFUL FORMULA COLLECTIVE – Oleksiy Koval, Veronika Wenger, Daniel Geiger, Thomas Rieger

music: Steve Coleman’s Natal Eclipse, John Coltrane

dramaturgical assistance: Roberto Fratini

light design: alina sokulska & Víctor Aicua

technical assistance: Pepe Lolo

costume design: socoolska

graphic design: Daria Koshkina

sponsorship: Tabi Footwear

with the support of: Institut del Teatre Diputació Barcelona, GRANER Fábrica de Creación

year of conception: 2025, in progress

BINARIO

[dance duet]

the duo module of the book of sand, a choreography performed by alina sokulska and Víctor Aicua. the composition of the piece is based on the spontaneous reconfiguration of the “infinity score,” written by sokulska, through dance material derived from the symbology of the 16 archetypes of the ilm al-raml geomancy system. following the algorhythm of divination, the two bodies follow their scores, building random / (not random) relationships, to continue (re)signifying, deconstructing meanings, and intangible temporary stories that are being created in the moment. with the accumulation of the meaning produced, we ask ourselves a question: where is the point at which our cumulative memory begins to erase the fundamental information about ourselves?

duration: 15 minutes to infinite

idea, concept, composition, choreography: alina sokulska

digital painting: THE BEAUTIFUL FORMULA COLLECTIVE: Oleksiy Koval, Daniel Geiger, Veronika Wenger, Thomas Rieger

choreographic assistance: Víctor Aicua

interpretation & co-creation: alina sokulska, Víctor Aicua

costume design: socoolska

illumination design: alina sokulska & Víctor Aicua

with the support of: Artist at Residence Munich, the Department of Culture of the City of Munich, Institut del Teatre Diputació de Barcelona, Pasoa2, the winner piece of Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid 2024.

year of creation: 2024, work in progress

the book of sand live

[interdisciplinary performance]

in their interdisciplinary collaboration, THE BEAUTIFUL FORMULA COLLECTIVE, Steve Coleman, alina sokulska & Víctor Aicua explore the relation between the media of painting & drawing, music and dance. united by the fundamental method of their research, spontaneous composition, the “trio” is navigating the spaces that open as a result of the frictions produced as various pieces, scores and media are put together in a common performance space. sliding between the fixed and the improvised materials, the performance invites an audience gaze to enter into a game where multiple meanings are being produced, shifted and erased.

duration: 55 minutes

spontaneous composition & co-creation in real time: in a collaboration between THE BEAUTIFUL FORMULA COLLECTIVE, alina sokulska, Víctor Aicua, Steve Coleman

painting / drawing: THE BEAUTIFUL FORMULA COLLECTIVE: Oleksiy Koval, Daniel Geiger, Veronika Wenger, Thomas Rieger

choreography: alina sokulska

dance interpretation & co-creation in real time: alina sokulska, Víctor Aicua

choreographic assistance: Víctor Aicua

costume design: socoolska

with the support of: Artist at Residence Munich, the Department of Culture of the City of Munich, Institut del Teatre Diputació de Barcelona, Curt Willis Shtiftung Foundation, BBK Landesverband Bayern, Muenchner Kammerspiele

year of creation: 2025

ILM AL RAML

[painting]

a series of digital paintings has been developed by Oleksiy Koval, in collaboration with the conceptual and compositional framework of “the book of sand”. such compositions as Ilm Al Ramlانكيس, and the composition for the duo piece

the compositions are co-creation with alina sokulska, and written using THE BEAUTIFUL FORMULA LANGUAGE. each of the compositions by Oleksiy Koval can be performed live as well as contemplated as an exhibited work, and have the potential for multiple interpretations, which will never be the same with each take, altho containing the same compositional score in its base.

Ilm Al-Raml

Composition by alina sokulska and Oleksiy Koval

50 x 40 cm, marker on PVC

AWARDS

1st jury prize of Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid 2024 

for “the book of sand: binario”