60,000 years have passed since humans first set out from Africa to settle on other continents. But even today, what was once, still resonates in us. Unceasingly we feel the origins of human life and our connection to nature, the resonance of music and rhythm in our body. In "Once upon a time ...", Kevin O'Day explores the universal parameters of human culture that seem to outlive space and time. The dancers of the company contribute their personal family stories and individual experiences to the choreographic process.

For his first full-length work for the dance company of the Mainfranken Theater, Artist in Residence Kevin O'Day draws inspiration from the theatre’s season motive "family ties". Therefore, he continues his long-standing artistic collaboration with the American composer John King. King's œuvre includes chamber music and electronic works as well as seven operas. He regularly writes for renowned ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and the string quartet Ethel. He has already been interested in dance for a long time and worked with dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham in New York et al. In his latest compositions, King is particularly interested in the sound systems and rhythms of North Africa, from which he creates his very own raw contemporary sound.