Culture

Hannibal Drama Plays Out on Alpen Ice

A former dancer, Hubert Lepka choreographs the movements of planes, trains and automobiles in one-off performances that combine a postmodern perspective with Las Vegas spectacle. Lepka's group just performed on top of the Rettenbach glacier in the Austrian Alps.
A Vegas Spectacle on Ice
With bright costumes and plenty of flashy displays, Lepka gives the historic narrative of Hannibal and the Second Punic War a modern twist. Hannibal led an army of men and war elephants from Iberia through the Alps into Northern Italy.
Up Up and Away

A helicopter lifts a caped Venus into the sky. Along with two helicopters, a B25 and an alpha-jet airplane make an appearance in the show as well.

Big Production Moves

With parachute and helmet in hand, one actor moves across the snowy stage. Since the summer of 1992, Lawine Torren's network of dancers, actors, media-artists and technicians has mounted more than 40 different shows.

The More the Merrier

Around 650 people were involved in putting on the show, almost half of them performers.

Traversing the Alps
Photo: Peter Rigaud
Dreamscape
Photo: Peter Rigaud
Planes Trains and Automobiles
Photo: Ernst Lorenzi
FullSpeed Ahead
Photo: Peter Rigaud/Lawine Torren
Burning Blue Ice
Photo: Lawine Torren
A Wonder of the Alps
Photo: Peter Rigaud
The Show Must Go on
Photo: Peter Rigaud
History Lesson
Photo: Lawine Torren
Man and His Beast
Photo: Bernhard Spöttel