People United Magazin by KiteboardingMagazin

W IR

Performing Arts (on) Paper

Christin Reinartz — Valentina Zappa — Maher Abdul Moaty — Sergio Mel — Ritsuko Matsuoka

Jill Crovisier — Emanuela Iacopini — Felden Krisis — Lena Noske — Hannah Ma — Sebastian Purfürst

Ridwan Rasheed — Nora Amin — Johanna Kasperowitsch — Yuri Fortini — Gian Marco Funari

Yaseen Manuel — Thobile Maphanga — Mamello Makhetha — Diana Gaya — Femi Adebajo

Mihara Keisuke — Johannes Steidle — Alexander Ourth — Julia Danila — Sonja Lau — Lliane Loots

Léa Tirabasso — Robert Ssempijja — Elisabeth Schilling — Judith Kriebel — Nai Ni Chen

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Ausgabe01 2021

People

United

People a Tr

Léa Tirabasso . Catarina Barbosa . Alistair Goldsmith . Joachim Maudet . Rosie Terry Toogood Martin Durov . Bohumil Kostohryz . Robert Ssempijja Elisabeth Schilling . Amelia Grey . Georgia Beechey . Gabriella Mersi . Marina Mersi . Fraser Ebbett . Yen-Ching Lin . Hung-Wen Chen Joshua Sailo . Lolchhandami . Matthew Sailo . Priiya Abhi . Sergey Cheremisinov . Nirbhay Raghav . Raé Classen . Yaseen Manuel . Kelly Jacobs Elina . Valtonen Fornier Ortiz . Anna Berger Marla King . Isabella Linnéa Matilda Bjärum . Ida Hesselmark . Aifric NÍ Chaoimh Baptiste Hilbert . Sissy Mondloch . Ileana Orofino Wa i t h e ra (Lena) Schreyeck . Giovanni Zazzera . Geneviève B e t h Grady . Stephanie Morley . Neil Balan . Sally Morgan Jack Balan . Alwynn Brown . Linnet Finley Ale Miller Gabi Serani . Natacha Anjel . Francesca Merolla Louisa Belz . Hannes Kraie . Paulina Porwollik . Louis Porwollik . Julian Brettschneider . Nadja Häussler . Ann-Leonie N i s s Jaclyn Hernandez . Frank Koenen . Sanna Lundström . Finn Alfred Marlies Koenen-Rohlfs . Gösta Berwing . Jana Schmück . Patrick von Bardeleben . Toni Neumann . Riccarda Svarovsky . Marielle Gerke . Pauline Reichardt . Barak Ben Dov . Nils Löfke . Markus Eckardt . Achim Löfke . Djamila Polo . Lucas Lopes . Harrison Rodrigues . Rosalie Kubny . Anna Guesnet . Annika Klemmayer Ana Berkenhoff . Vita Stasolla . Sasha di Giambattista . Michele Molinari . Leonie Stöckle . Chandana Phadkule . Stefan Rosenboom Kathrin Knöpfle . Ruby Hammerschmidt . Volker Hammerschmidt Herbert Holzmann . Daniela Molina . Kathi Wolf . Katie Kelly Julia Klockow . Luca Sierra . Julia K. Gleich . Duane Gosa . Tiffany Mangulabnan . Jason Andrew . Paula Pino . Melissa Wu . Michael Wall . Helena Lange . Cara Rother . Benjamin Petersen . Nina Melcher . Giorgia Calliari . Miriam Kaya . Laure-Anne Segers

Lotta Sandborgh . Carolina Sulczinski Paludo . Bettina Paletta Jonas Sercombe . Eva Baumann . Christine Chu . Levent Gürsoy Luciana Mugei . Pascal Sangl . Carmen Scarano . Timm Roller Christopher Bühler . Andy Beeson . James Cheetham . Jane Alexander . Rhiannon Whale . Chris Andrews . Nina Bergius . Alistair Beattie . Sam Rodulfo . Andrea Berchtold . Anna Crooks . Cristina Bevilacqua . You . Judith Kriebel . Saif Al-Khayyat . Victor Beusch Jessica Schultheis . Saif Al-Khayyat . Elisabeth Burgard . Josef Gimbel . Alicia Grant . Anika Hoffmann . Marlene Jungandreas Kerstin Kirf . Petra Kirsten . Arno Kopp . Daniel Kopp . Amelie Merten . Britta Merten . Almut Müller . Birgitt Raabe . Caterina Reubert . Ingrid Sersch . Petra Siede . Gisela Zigawe-Schmitt Susanne Weibler . Monika Dießner . Nai Ni Chen . Greta Campo Candace Jarvis . Ethan Gwynn . Evan Matthew Stewart . Rio Kakuchi . Sonny Shiu . Yuka Notsuka . Mihara Keisuke . Johannes Steidle . Alexander Ourth . Susanne Weibler . Meike Pintaske Julia Rajsp . Sebastian Gasper . Lennart Matthiesen . Ingo Paulick Mario Schnitzler . Julia Danila . Sonja Lau . Lliane Loots . Yaseen Manuel. Flatfoot Dance Company . Thobile Maphanga . Mamello Makhetha . Thandi Gula . Quinton Manning . Mikyla Emergui Bryan Augustyn . Ramadumesta Makhwidiri . We . Diana Gaya Charlie Ely . Mesuli Nale . Femi Adebajo . Ridwan Rasheed . Tiwa Adeunga . Segun Ademeso . Moses Akintunde . John Victor Yusuf Gbadamosi . Nora Amin . Johanna Kasperowitsch . Irina Pauls . Mey Seifan . Johanna Roggan . Helena M. Fernandino . Yuri Fortini Gian Marco Funari . Jill Crovisier . Andy Lin . Tiago Benzinho

United

Emanuela Iacopini . Frey Faust . Yuko Kominami . Haju Hari . Us Toprak Umut Sevinc . Rajivan Ayyappan . Nico Tremblay . Laura Mannelli . Anne-Marie Herckes . Stephane Boko . Lucile Risch Felden Krisis . Lena Noske . Hannah Ma . Sebastian Purfürst Christin Reinartz . Valentina Zappa . Maher Abdul Moaty . Sergio Mel . Ritsuko Matsuoka . Christine Schmidt . Isabelle Bertges Raoul Schmitz . Dirk Seifert . Annick Kieffer . Claire Ramos . Julia James

People United Magazin

Editorial The future ain’t what it used to be. Yogi Berra

In den letzten zwei Jahren haben mein Team und ich Tode betrauert, Kinder geboren, uns verliebt, uns verirrt. Wir sind um die Welt gereist und im Lockdown eingefroren. Wir haben uns verloren und wiedergefunden, sind individuell und kollektiv verbrannt und wieder aufgestanden. Wo wird unsere Reise hingehen? Into the unknown. Die brillante Vordenkerin Rosi Braidotti schreibt: “Unless one is at ease with multi-dimensional complexity, one cannot feel at home in the twenty-first century” (Posthuman Knowledge, Braidotti: 2019). Mit dem Aufruf zu einer Transition ins WIR machen wir auf die Notwendigkeit des Überwindens unserer dualistischen und kategorisierenden Geisteshaltung aufmerksam. Nicht ICH bin. Wir sind. Eine Schöpfung, eine Welt, ein Schwarm. Koexistierend mit vielen anderen Entitäten. Vereint in allem was ist. Mit vielfältigen Beiträgen und Bestandsaufnahmen von Künstler:innen aus aller Welt möchten wir verdeutlichen, wie sehr die Kunst uns ins Handeln bringt. Die Künste ermöglichen, uns zu äußern und unserer kreativen Natur Rechnung zu tragen. Diese Natur wiederum ist oftmals absurd und grotesk, aber auch verspielt und befreiend. Ebenso beschreibt auch die Choreografin Léa Tirabasso ihr Stück The Ephemeral Life of an Octopus. Wie können wir sein? Was wollen wir sein? Was dürfen wir sein? Den Versuch einer Antwort wagt die nigerianische Future of Dance Company mit dem Tanzfilm YING YANG und gibt einen Einblick in ein Kunstschaffen weitab unserer westlichen, eurozentrisch geprägten Kulturlandschaft. Buchstäblich aufwachen lässt uns die Choreografin Nai-Ni Chen – aus New York mit ihrem Beitrag AWAKENING. Ihre Choreografien beruhen auf den tiefen östlichen Weisheiten des Seins und erinnern uns an die Geheimnisse unserer Existenz.

In einer ebenfalls existenzielle Fragen betreffenden Arbeit nähert sich die Regisseurin Judith Kriebel mit DIE (ÜBER)STERBLICHEN. Eine letzte Reise – einem Bürger:innentheater – dem Tod an. Nach Identität, Heimat und Verbindung suchen Kesuke Mihara und Johannes Steidle in Suminoka – Coal Flower und Robert Ssempijja in Alienation. Sie fragen sich, wo sie herkommen, wer sie sind – und lassen uns eintauchen in ihre ureigenen Welten. Auch Yaseen Manuel fragt in seinen Arbeiten Al- Kitab und UNHINGED für die FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY nach Identität. In Al-Kitab versucht er die Balance zwischen Religion und einer Tänzerexistenz auszuloten. UNHINGED analysiert individuelle Zustände von Schizophrenie im heutigen Südafrika und fragt, ob es überhaupt so etwas wie eine „psychische Norm“ geben kann. Diese Norm wird auch in Machozi ya Jana (Yesterday’s Tears) von Diana Gaya aus Kenia hinterfragt. Das von Träumen, Albträumen und Erinnerungen inspirierte Stück zeigt auf, wie schwer es sein kann, Vergangenes loszulassen und voranzuschreiten in eine ungewisse Zukunft. Mit der deutschen Vergangenheit setzt sich der Trierer Regisseur Alexander Ourth auseinander. Die multimediale Performance Sternenköpfe Schlammfüße verhandelt fragmentarisch 1.700 Jahre dokumentiertes jüdisches Leben in Deutschland. Auf ihrem Weg in die Zukunft vertanzt Mamello Makhetha aus Südafrika mit Ore Phelele auf beeindruckende Weise eine Geschichte von sexuellem Missbrauch und Trauma. Damit geht sie mutig weit über das hinaus, was im Rahmen von #metoo verhandelt wird. Auch Dancing with Pain von Nora Amin ist eine performative Verarbeitung von Trauma. Sie nimmt uns mit auf eine Reise der Heilung und Auseinandersetzung mit dem Muttersein, dem Tochtersein und dem Tod.

Transition ins WIR

Noch mehr vom Muttersein erzählt Johanna Kasperowitsch in ihrem Tanz-Forschungsfilm Tanz und Mutterschaft. Der interviewbasierte Film zeigt die Problemfelder unserer patriarchalen Denk- und Gesellschaftsstruktur auf. Wie organisch und heil Transition sein kann, verdeutlichen Yuri Fortini mit der Fotostrecke ONÌRICO und Jill Crovisier mit ihrem Tanzfilm NILYNDA. Es ist die Zartheit, Verletzlichkeit und Unbeschwertheit, die der Nicht-Binarität innewohnt, die wir uns oftmals auf dem Weg in ein WIR noch versagen. Dieser Weg kann möglicherweise über den Vorgang des Zauderns beschritten werden. Julia Danila und Sonja Lau ergründen den Zaudernden (Gesellschafts-) Körper in einer pandemischen Revision. Der abwesende Körper wird Kunstgriff in der weltweiten Initiative Invisible Dances von Elisabeth Schilling. Invisible Dances macht auf die abwesenden Tänzer:innenkörper während der Pandemie aufmerksam und erhebt Städte und Landschaften zu deren stillen Bühnen. Lena Noske interpretiert mit einem Gedicht das Tanzstück ONDA – Into the Unknown. Mit ONDA – ein Gedicht bringt sie die Performance wieder dahin, wo sie einst auch ihren Ursprung hatte – im geschriebenen und gesprochenen Wort. So bleibt, falls auch wir erneut nicht mehr tanzen, immerhin ein Gedicht als Spur unserer Arbeit. Mit den Spuren, die übrig bleiben, wenn wir Orte verlassen, beschäftigt sich auch Thobile Maphanga in dem Tanzfilm Sihamba Sizibala. Wer können wir sein? Wollen wir sein? Dürfen wir sein? Der Instagram-Account @somatic_based_content_only entspringt dem anonymen Künstlerkollektiv Felden Krisis und schafft es, kulturpolitische und -philosophische Fragen mit einem post-humanistischen, somatisch analytischen Körperbezug technofeministisch brillant zu verhandeln.

↗ © Incarda Deseyen

Mehr dazu auch im Beitrag ONDA – Into the Unknown. Mit der Initiative ONDA setzen sich mein Team „The People United“, der multimediale Künstler Sebastian M. Purfürst und ich uns mit der Beziehung von Mensch, Natur und Politik auseinander. Denn auch wir haben erkannt: „Yes, we are in this together: between the algorithmic devil and the acidified deep blue sea. …we need to learn to address these contradictions not only intellectually, but also affectively and to do so in an affirmative manner. This conviction rests on the following ethical rule: it is important to be worthy of our times, the better to act upon them, in both a critical and creative manner. It follows that we should approach our historical contradictions not as some sustainable burden, but rather as the building blocks of a sustainable present and an affirmative and hopeful future, even if this approach requires some drastic changes to our familiar mind-sets and established values.“ (Posthuman Knowledge, Braidotti: 2019). „The future will be what we design it to be.” Hannah Ma Herausgeberin

Auch die Choreografin Emanuela Iacopini arbeitet auf der Basis von somatischen Grundsätzen. In der Produktion Blast wird der Körper zu einem Moment in Raum und Zeit, in dem sich universale Dynamiken des Seins verbinden. Unser Aufruf ins WIR ist ein Aufruf für eine kritische Hinterfragung von nicht-diversen Denkstrukturen in unser aller Bewusstsein. Es ist ein feministischer Appell an die Liebe und der Ruf nach Intimität – vor allem mit uns selbst. Liebe und Intimität sind politisch! Dieser Wahrheit dürfen wir uns nicht entziehen. Wir sind aufgerufen in ihrem Sinne zu handeln.

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People United Magazin

Welcome to People United Performing Arts (on) Paper We are delighted to have you here! Please come in as you are.

Transition ins WIR

↗ Hannah Ma, Dirk Seifert © Fotobox Feedback | Questions | Hellos: magazin@hannahmadance.com

People United Magazin

Inhalt 4—5 10 — 15

Editorial

The Ephemeral Life of an Octopus Léa Tirabasso

16 — 25

Alienation Robert Ssempijja

26 — 37

Invisible Dances Elisabeth Schilling

38 — 45

DIE (ÜBER)STERBLICHEN. Eine letzte Reise Judith Kriebel

46 — 53

Awakening Nai-Ni Chen

54 — 61

Suminoka – Coal Flower Keisuke Mihara, Johannes Steidle

62 — 67

STERNENKÖPFE Schlammfüße Alexander Ourth

68 — 75

Der Zaudernde (Gesellschafts) Körper. Eine pandemische Revision Julia Danila, Sonja Lau

Transition ins WIR

76 — 87

JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience Yaseen Manuel | Al-Kitab und UNHINGED Thobile Maphanga | Sihamba Sizibala Diana Gaya | Machozi ya Jana (Yesterday’s Tears) Mamello Makhetha | Ore Phelele

88 — 93

YIN YANG the film The Future of Dance Company

94 — 99

Dancing with Pain Nora Amin

100 — 105

Tanz und Mutterschaft Johanna Kasperowitsch

106 — 119

ONÌRICO Yuri Fortini

120 — 127

NILYNDA (full short dance film) Jill Crovisier

128 — 137

Blast Emanuela Iacopini

138 — 143

@somatic_based_content_only Felden Krisis

144 — 151

ONDA – ein Gedicht Lena Noske

152 — 177

ONDA – Into the Unknown Hannah Ma, Sebastian M. Purfürst, The People United

178

Impressum

People United Magazin

The Ephemeral Life of an Octopus

‘There is the ancient, religious idea that man is the unhappy combination of beast and god: if only we were divine, we would be liberated, immortal spirit; if only we were beast, we could be content in our instinctive ignorance’. Thomas Stern, ‘The Human and the Octopus’

The Ephemeral Life of an Octopus is absurd and grotesque, playful and liberating. It questions the strangeness of having a body: healthy and vigorous, suffering and damaged, punctured and probed, wild and animalistic. The piece is inspired by studies of the evolution of cancer cells and the lived experience of illness. At once scientific, philosophical, and visceral, the piece looks at the dysfunction, chaos and vibrant life force of the body from within and without.

Transition ins WIR

↑ — Léa Tirabasso ©Elsa Petit

Léa Tirabasso

With her latest work The Ephemeral Life of an Octopus, Léa is one of the Twenty20 Aerowaves Artists. As a choreographer, Léa is interested in how emotional and physical states generate movements. Her previous works toured in the UK, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, and South-Korea. As a dancer, she worked with Johannes Wieland, Stephanie Thiersch, Michael Langeneckert (DE), Chris Haring (AT), José Vidal (CL), Clod Ensemble, Seke Chimuntengwende, Seven Sisters Group (UK), Jean-Guillaume Weis, Bernard Baumgarten (LU), Nicole Seiler (CH) and Omar Rajeh (LB). For two seasons, she was a full-time member of the TanzTheater Ensemble in Kassel (DE), under the direction of Johannes Wieland. Léa has been teaching workshops internationally and is a guest speaker to University College London. She is one of charity’s Eve Appeal Ambassadors.

People United Magazin

With the collaboration of the dancers Catarina Barbosa, Alistair Goldsmith, Joachim Maudet, Rosie Terry Toogood Composer Martin Durov Lighting designer Nicolas Tremblay Project manager Mathis Junet Associate producer Hattie Gregory Scientific advisors Adeola Olaitan, François Eisinger Philosophy advisors Thomas Stern Animal transformation coach Gabrielle Moleta Video by Bohumil Kostohryz

THE HUMAN AND THE OCTOPUS A Philosopher’s Sickness by Tom Stern

↑ — Ephemeral Life of an Octopus ©Bohumil Kostohryz

Choreographer and Director Léa Tirabasso

Transition ins WIR

The Ephemeral Life of an Octopus Limited Availability

People United Magazin

Can art exist without pain or is it a form of coping mechanism for you? I do not know. Art helps, entertains, enlightens, provokes, asks question. It heals, too.

Is art work or your work art? Art work.

Do you think you could stop making art? No. It might take another form, I might one day use another material, but art will always be part of my life. It is when I draw fire trucks with my son.

When working on a new project—does it originate in your mind or body? In my body first.

Where do you feel connection? In your body, mind,heart, head? In my belly.

Do you feel closer to people when making art with them? Are you a body or do you have it? Body over mind or mind over body? Dislocated mind and body. Often working as a whole, sometimes dislocated. I sometimes lose the connections.

Do you think that the spheres female and male are still relevant categories that we humans need to define society? I am not sure. I love being a female, identifying as a female. I love what I fight for, what it stands for.

The art world is still a male dominated sphere that acts in patriarchal hierarchies. What is your experience with that? I have not yet been completely damaged by it. It nearly happened, as a mother bringing my kids around to rehearsals and performances—often people are supportive. Sometimes inhuman and, dare I say, mean.

Is playfulness important in creation? Yes!! Creation is playful!

What are you struggling with in life? And which one was your most important one? Time. Health. Fear of death.

Yes. Without words and without acknowledging it. A tacit bond is created.

Is your art like an intimate partner or is it a process you birthed? A process I birthed.

Do you feel or produce art? Both…!

When do you feel lonely? When I am not sure where I am going in life.

When do you feel powerful? When feel full of life and love, rooted. When I am creating with integrity. When I don’t give a fuck.

Do you feel powerful by yourself or within your community? By myself.

Does your community empower you? It probably does too.

Is art necessary? Yes.

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What makes you happy?

Do you believe in society?

Eating chocolate after each meal.

Yes.

Is art your answer to the world or to yourself?

Do you believe in politics?

It is my question to the world.

Not sure. I feel disconnected from politics.

Where do you carry your feelings?

Your politics of intimacy?

In my belly.

Don’t be ashamed.

Can you let go of emotions when you processed them through art?

The past? The past. Mine is very present.

I can surely face them, watch them, and understand them better.

The future? Are you an idealist or realist?

The future, ungraspable. I am unable to project myself

That’s a heard one. Probably a realist!

in more than one year from now. Fear of death.

What opens your heart?

The NOW?

Laughter. Smiles.

What?

Does your body keep the score?

Are you here? Present?

No!

…

Is your mind ever quiet? And if yes, what do you hear or see in these moments?

If not: Where are you? Sleeping under.

No...!

What is the I, the me? Do you experience moments or are you the moment?

The sum of experiences. Yet also, the nothing else, the now, the gone, the little deaths.

I am the moment. Only because I can’t find the time to experience it, it reassures me to answer that I am.

What is the you? The look out.

Breathe in—breathe out. What’s your first thought now?

How is your relationship with mortality?

That my kids are quiet now... strange…

Fascinated, yet scared. Destiny.

How is your relationship with money?

How is your relationship with death?

I am afraid of not having enough money, of not being able to offer

Intrigued, yet afraid.

a decent life to my kids. Holidays, universities, flats when they go to uni etc.

Your own death? I go to bed each night fearing I would not wake up.

Are you producing your own art? Yes. In collaboration with a producer though.

Somebody else’s death? I am afraid for my kids

How is your relationship with the performance art market? Tricky. I love the adrenaline of networking. I love sharing my work and the danger it represents somehow: Will it «work» or not? Will it «sell»? Will it make me «live»?

How is your relationship with nature? I am in awe in front of nature.

People United Magazin

Alienation The project Alienation takes you on a journey of self-discovery of what a home is and where we belong. It reflects on knowledge about oneself through the lens of colonialism and decolonisation. It questions the paths that have been chosen and what has been taken for granted. The piece investigates the colonial foundations which underpinned the architecture of Kampala City and its contemporary impacts. As a young child, Robert used to know this city inside out. This was home, this was where he belonged, and this was his world. The older he got the more questions he had. But the answers never seemed to fully add up to any logic. The more questions he had the less he could feel connected to the city. The streets had names which he couldn’t relate

to. The neighbourhoods were divided by the size of the wallet and hence often also by the colour of skin. The weight of the city’s colonial years and the people’s endurance formed by its structural design had started to build up. A weight that every new generation will have to bear, whether they know it or not. A question started to crystallise: “How can we expect to grow and thrive as a city and as people when the foundation we have was neither built nor meant for us?”

Transition ins WIR

Robert Ssempijja Robert Ssempijja is a Ugandan contemporary artist and dance researcher with a career in formal and informal dance settings as well as a person who works in the era of post colonialism and decolonisation, and travels between the worlds to find a way to build a sustainable scene for contemporary dance in Uganda. Since he has practiced his art in three different continents with different companies, projects and choreographers such as Christoh Winkler (Germany), Nora Chipaumire (New York/Zimbabwe), Qudus Onikeku (Nigeria), Patrick Acogny (France/Senegal) and many more he can develop new aesthetics and forms of art. Robert is also curious about how the body creates and transfers information as well as secrets into movement which build up the body’s own vocabulary. He assumes that our bodies are comprised of information archives which are activated when it comes to movement. In his interesting creations of art, he uses a combination of Ugandan traditional dance, breakdance and techniques of contemporary dance.

↑ — Robert Ssempijja

People United Magazin

Transition ins WIR

Concept & Performance

Robert Ssempijja Set Design

Robert Ssempijja Joseph Tebandekel Music

Öz Kaveller Costume

IGC fashion Directed by

Director Teflon

People United Magazin

Is playfulness important in creation? Sometimes it can be a source for creativity to flow.

What are you struggling with in life? And which one was your most important one? My past and my childhood. Sometimes I still feel like it’s hurting me.

Can art exist without pain or is it a form of coping mechanism for you? It is a form of coping mechanism, but it doesn’t exclude me from creating when I’m happy.

Is art work or your work art? My work is art.

Do you think you could stop making art? It’s like telling me to stop breathing.

When mixing all kinds of art forms—where do you locate the body in your work?

When working on a new project—does it originate in your mind or body? Both.

Is the body the fundament of all or is it the surface of projection that makes intellectual processes visible? It’s the fundament of all,

What do you see when you close your eyes?

because the body is an archive.

I see trees in a forest. It makes me calm.

Are you a body or do you have it? Body over mind or mind over body?

Where do you feel connection? In your body, mind, heart, head?

If the mind has understood it then the body just conceives it. But

In my soul.

when the body leads, the mind can follow to new heights.

Do you think that the spheres female and male are still relevant categories that we humans need to define society?

Do you feel closer to people when making art with them? If it gets me more time to know them better.

I think so, especially in the society I grew up in.

Is your art like an intimate partner or is it a process you birthed?

In nature the spheres male and female are already vanishing, getting distinct. How do you define (your) gender fluidity?

It believe it’s a process.

Do you feel or produce art?

I don’t have gender fluidity. Although I’m comfortable enough in

I feel.

my masculinity to also embrace my femininity.

When do you feel lonely? The art world is still a male dominated sphere that acts in patriarchal hierarchies. What is your experience with that?

Every day when my wife isn’t by my side.

It’s very hard to find female choreographers to work with. In Ugan-

When I’m creating and when my wife is with me.

When do you feel powerful?

da we don’t have many women practicing dance. In my experience in comparison to those actually doing the work. But in terms of

Do you feel powerful by yourself or within your community

prestige and power the role of leading is never shared.

Both.

most projects are dominated by men, but who usually fall short

Transition ins WIR

Is art necessary? No doubt.

What makes you happy? Creating art and my wife.

Were you born an artist or merged into one? Are you an artist? I was just born. Who am I to put a stamp on myself?

Is art your answer to the world or to yourself? Both.

Where do you carry your feelings? Sometimes in my art.

Can you let go of emotions when you processed them through art? The political ones I can’t.

What makes you stop in your tracks? The state of the world makes me lose motivation and I don’t want

How is your relationship with the performance art market?

to carry on sometimes.

I’m learning.

And what gets you going again?

How is your relationship with nature?

When I see something good happening around the world.

I believe in nature.

Are you an idealist or realist?

Do you believe in society?

Depends on my mood.

Yes.

What opens your heart?

Do you believe in politics?

Love and nature.

Never.

Is your mind ever quiet?

Your politics of intimacy?

Not even when I’m sleeping.

I’m here.

Do you experience moments or are you the moment?

How is your relationship with mortality?

I experience moments.

I believe in reincarnation.

Breathe in—breathe out. What’s your first thought now?

How is your relationship with death? Without death, no life.

Relaxed.

Your own death? How is your relationship with money?

When it comes, I’ll be ready.

Progressing.

Somebody else’s death? Are you producing your own art? Yes.

It’s part of nature. If it happens, it happens.

People United Magazin

Invisible Dances Während Sie schliefen, während Sie woanders waren, während alles stiller war, kamen die Tänzer*innen. Die Füchse haben sie gesehen. Und wer schlecht schlief, hat vielleicht eine gewisse Unruhe gespürt. Im orangefarbenen Licht der Straßenlaternen, vereinzelt durchbrochen vom Blaulicht der Krankenwagen, kamen sie langsam zusammen. Über die Distanz schauten sie einander an. Es ging los. Die Gelenke neu abgestimmt, ganz sanft, reckten sich kalte Arme nach oben. Kleine Gebirgsketten entstanden aus Kies und Plastik, von flitzenden Füßen zusammengeschoben. Während sie sich bewegten, ergossen sich bunte Linien über den Boden hinter ihnen. Diese Zeichnungen sind die Erinnerungen an einen Tanz, der ihnen nie gehörte – denn es ist

Ihrer. Sie sehen nun die Spuren, können ihnen folgen und mittanzen, auf Ihrem ganz eigenen Weg. Hätte Ihnen jemand zu Beginn des letzten Jahres gesagt, dass alles anhalten würde, dass wir kaum mehr unsere Häuser verlassen würden, dass wir unsere Familien nicht mehr sehen könnten – hätten Sie es geglaubt? Können Sie sich vorstellen, dass diese Tänzer*innen in einer anderen Welt hinter einem roten Vorhang hervorgekommen wären? In dieser Welt kamen sie in der Nacht zu Ihnen, ungesehen. Róisín O’Brien

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Elisabeth Schilling

Elisabeth Schilling ist eine international tätige Tänzerin und Choreografin. Die Zeit des ersten Lockdowns im Frühjahr 2020 inspirierte sie zu den Invisible Dances: Art In and Around Lockdown.

↓ Invisible Dances Hildesheim, Tanzschule Saltazio © FelixBerner

People United Magazin

Transition ins WIR

↘ Invisible Dances Aizawl, India. Credit: Matthew Sailo & Lolchhandami Photo: © Matthew Sailo

↑ — Invisible Dances Bischofswerda © Riccarda Svarovsky Dancer & Tracer: Jana Schmück, Patrick von Bardeleben

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Invisible Dances New York

↑ — Invisible Dances Kiel © Preslav Mantchev, Dancers/ Tracers: Tabea Austen, Anne-Marie Warburton, Franziska Plüschke, Thara R. Hartmann, Maike Rittmeier, Julia Huhnhold

Invisible Dances New Dheli

↙ — Invisible Dances Hannover ©Jonas Sercombe Local team: Helena Lange, Cara Rother, Benjamin Petersen, Nina Melcher, Giorgia Calliari, Miriam Kaya, Laure-Anne Segers, Lotta Sandborgh, Carolina Sulczinski Paludo, Bettina Paletta

↓ — Invisible Dances Prüm © NN Dancer & Tracer: Vita Stasolla, Sasha di Giambattista

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Invisible Dances in Kooperation mit PDSW

Invisible Dances Hannover

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Was genau ist das künstlerische Konzept der Invisible Dances? Eine ungerade Anzahl von lokalen Tänzer*innen trifft sich um 3 Uhr morgens in der Mitte der Stadt, begleitet von der gleichen Anzahl von sogenannten „Tracern“ (Spurenlegern). Abhängig von der Größe der Stadt kann es auch mehrere Gruppen geben, die zur gleichen Zeit aber an verschiedenen Orten tanzen. Nichts davon wird öffentlich angekündigt. Die Tänzerinnen und Tänzer stellen sich horizontal im Abstand von zwei Metern – gemäß den Richtlinien des Pandemieschutzes – auf. Die Tracer folgen in einer zweiten Reihe, ca. zwei Meter hinter den Tänzer*innen. Die Tänzer*innen beginnen zu tanzen, bewegen sich durch die Stadt, suchen lautlos von Moment zu Moment und kollektiv ihren Weg, immer in einer Gruppe, aber sie halten Abstand. Hinter ihnen markieren die Tracer den jeweiligen individuellen Weg mit einfarbiger Sprühkreide: Es entstehen bunte Linien, die durch die Stadt tanzen, parallel nebeneinander oder ineinander verschlungen – Spuren eines „unsichtbaren Tanzes“. Morgens, wenn die Menschen aufwachen, aus ihren Fenstern schauen und ihre Häuser verlassen, ist die Stadt „in diese Spuren gehüllt“ – eine öffentliche Erinnerung an einen Tanz, den

Was sind die Invisible Dances?

niemand gesehen hat. Auf den neben den „Tanzspuren“ an Later-

Während der Zeit im „Lockdown“ suchte ich nach einem Weg, par-

nenpfählen oder Zäunen angebrachten Schildern findet man eine

tizipatorische, aber sichere Kunst zu fördern, um Menschen auf

Aufforderung an alle dem Tanz zu folgen, sich die „unsichtbaren

der ganzen Welt, die sich in gegenseitiger Einsamkeit befanden,

Tänze“ vorzustellen, sie nachzutanzen oder zu malen sowie auch

zu inspirieren und zu verbinden. Als solches wurden die „Invisible

die global stattfindenden Tänze auf der Website anzuschauen.

Dances: Art In and Around Lockdown“ kreiert, um Künstler und Publikum zusammenzubringen, ohne dass sie sich notwendigerweise im traditionellen Sinne treffen. „Invisible Dances“ ist ein Tanzstück, welches das Publikum einlädt, Kunst auf eine neue und kreative Weise zu erleben. Angepasst an individuell lokale und gesellschaftliche Distanzierungsvorschriften sucht es seinen Platz im öffentlichen Raum und verwandelt Straßen und Plätze in Bühnen. Die unangekündigte Aufführung findet nachts statt, wenn die Menschen schlafen, um sie am nächsten Morgen mit bunten Spuren des Tanzes zu überraschen, zu inspirieren und zu leiten. Dieses neue Stück verbindet Tanz und bildende Kunst auf eine poetische, spielerische und für viele Menschen hoffentlich anregende und erfreuende Weise. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, Tanz und Kultur direkt in die Stadtzentren zurückzubringen. Das Projekt Invisible Dances startete im September 2020 in vielen Städten auf der ganzen Welt und wird seither in Zusammenarbeit mit lokalen Künstler*innen und Kunstorganisationen organisiert und aufgeführt. In Zeiten teilweise geschlossener Grenzen und dem Rückzug in die digitale Welt schaffen wir durch sichtbar-unsichtbare Kunst neue internationale Verbindungen. Auf der Invisible Dances-Website findet man eine Weltkarte, die alle Invisible Dances auf dem ganzen Erdball zeigt. Die Invisible Dances verbinden somit das Digitale mit dem Lokalen.

Wie kam diese Idee zustande? In der Zeit des ersten Lockdowns ab März 2020, als die Situation der Pandemie und Absagewellen von Konzerten, Performances und kulturellen Veranstaltungen nicht abriss, sondern immer heftiger wurde, habe ich viele meiner Freunde und Künstler*innenKolleg*innen als immer trauriger und verzweifelter werdend erleben müssen. Die Hoffnung schien immer mehr zu schwinden. Ich dachte mir, dass wir als kreative Menschen trotz dieser gravierenden Restriktionen, die damals auf unser Berufsfeld ausgeübt wurden, doch „etwas erschaffen“ müssten. Auch wenn wir nicht im traditionellen Sinne auf den Bühnen tanzen durften und unser Publikum im Theaterraum treffen konnten, so musste doch ein Konzept zu finden sein, welches uns ermöglichte, unseren Beruf ausüben zu können, unsere Kunstform Tanz leben und mit einem Publikum teilen zu dürfen – nur eben auf eine andere Art und Weise. Es war mir wichtig, dass mein Konzept nicht nur im Digitalen stattfand, sondern auch eine konkrete lokale Komponente beinhaltete. Eines Tages im Juni 2020 bin ich aufgewacht und hatte die Idee der Invisible Dances und so begann alles.

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Wo wurde das Projekt bisher durchgeführt?

Videos, Zeichnungen und/oder Texten wieder an mich zurückzu-

Das Projekt hatte seine Premiere Anfang September 2020 am

senden.

Trifolion Echternach. Seitdem fanden die Invisible Dances, ge-

Die Dokumentation. Die nächtliche Performance wird von

meinsam organisiert mit lokalen Künstler*innen und Kulturorga-

entweder einem/r Fotograf*in oder einem/r Videograf*in doku-

nisationen, in Finnland, Taiwan, Neuseeland, Australien, Indien,

mentiert. Die Idee ist es, genau diese Dokumentation am frühen

Südafrika, Schweden, Deutschland, Großbritannien, Italien, Chile,

Morgen nach dem Geschehen auf meinen sozialen Medien, den

USA, Kanada und Schottland statt. Weitere Länder sind in Pla-

sozialen Medien der beteiligten Künstler*innen, denen der Stadt

nung. Das Projekt wurde sowohl in Großstädten und Weltmetro-

oder der unterstützenden Kulturinstitution zu veröffentlichen, um

polen als auch in Kleinstädten oder Dörfern durchgeführt.

dem „Publikum“, d. h. den Bewohner*innen der Stadt oder des Dorfes einen direkten Einblick in das vergangene nächtliche Geschehen zu geben.

In welcher Weise wird das Projekt organisiert?

Die Presse. Da nicht jeder Zugang zu den sozialen Medien

Die Organisation findet auf recht unterschiedliche Art und Weise

hat, sind wir bzw. die beteiligten Künstler*innen immer auch sehr

statt. Als Company haben wir uns im letzten Jahr um einige „Co-

eng mit der lokalen Presse in Kontakt, um das Konzept und das

rona-Förderungen“ beworben, die uns ermöglichten, Künstler*in-

Event auch auf diesem Wege an das „Publikum“ zu vermitteln.

nen mit der Durchführung des Konzepts der Invisible Dances – zunächst in Deutschland – zu beauftragen. In der Folge haben wir turinstitutionen international erhalten, die dieses Projekt gerne

Wie wird das „künstlerisches Konzept“ an die vor Ort Agierenden vermittelt?

durchführen wollten und uns damit beauftragten. Wir haben wäh-

Das künstlerische Konzept sowohl für die Tänzer*innen als auch

rend des letzten Jahres eine klare Organisationsstruktur in Bezug

für die Tracer wird in einem Online-Workshop vermittelt. Im

auf die Durchführung des Projektes entwickelt. Alles beginnt mit

Grunde genommen behandelt dieser Workshop Ideen, wie Tanz

der Einholung der Erlaubnis bei der jeweiligen Gemeinde. Wir ha-

visualisiert werden kann. Jeder Mensch hat ganz unterschied-

ben Dokumente erstellt, welche die Sicherheit der Performer*in-

liche Vorstellungen und Herangehensweisen hierzu, das ist für

nen während des Events im urbanen Raum, aber auch in Zeiten

mich das Spannende an den Workshops. Ich selbst habe drei ver-

von COVID-19 und im Umgang mit dem umweltfreundlichen und

schiedene Perspektiven erarbeitet, wie sich der Tanz der Invisible

wasserlöslichen Kreidespray sicherstellen. Des Weiteren stellen

Dances durch Spuren darstellen lässt: die architektonische, die

wir den Agierenden Pressedokumente, Empfehlungen zum Krei-

rhythmische und die imaginative Perspektive. Diese drei Heran-

despray, die designten Schilder, die Teil des Projektes sind, unsere

gehensweisen sind an den von mir entwickelten „Manifold Body“

visuelle Identität und natürlich die Präsenz auf unserer globalen

angelehnt und umgearbeitet auf die speziellen Bedürfnisse der

Invisible Dances-Website zur Verfügung. Manchmal verkaufen

Invisible Dances sowie in Bezug auf die Tatsache, dass draußen

wir die Rechte an der Performance, manchmal geben wir direkt

getanzt wird. Was genau sich hinter diesen Perspektiven verbirgt,

Künstler*innen oder Kulturorganisationen den Auftrag, die Per-

bleibt bislang ein Arbeitsgeheimnis.

auch viele Anfragen von Künstler*innen, Kompanien oder Kul-

formance durchzuführen.

Wie wurde das Projekt kulturell aufgenommen? Welche Rolle spielen die Schilder und auch die Dokumentation des nächtlichen Tanzes innerhalb des Konzeptes?

Da wir das Projekt an unterschiedlichen Orten der Welt haben

Teil der Performance der Invisible Dances ist ein dreiteiliges Rah-

zu der Performance war. Da das Publikum auf unkonventionelle

menprogramm:

Art und Weise mit dieser Kunstform konfrontiert wird und die Be-

stattfinden lassen dürfen, haben wir erleben können, wie unterschiedlich sowohl die Ausführung selbst als auch die Resonanz

Die Schilder Sie werden um den urbanen Raum, in welchem

wohner*innen oft „darüber stolpern“, wissen wir natürlich nicht

die Invisible Dances stattfinden, an Bäumen, Straßenlampen oder

von jedem, wie es aufgenommen wurde. Ganz allgemein war und

Zäunen angebracht, um das Konzept durch ein von der schotti-

ist die Resonanz sehr positiv, vor allem auf den sozialen Medien

schen Poetin Roísín O“Brien geschriebenes Gedicht zu erläutern,

und durch unsere Website. Durch diese digitalen Komponenten

die globale Reichweite des Projektes an das lokale Publikum zu

vergrößerte sich das Publikum vom lokalen zum globalen.

vermitteln und durch einen QR-Code zu der Weltkarte mit allen In-

Es gab Städte und Orte, in welchen manche BewohnerIn-

visible Dances zugänglich zu machen. Außerdem lädt das Schild

nen sich nicht auf das Werk einlassen konnten und dies auch auf

dazu ein, auf unterschiedliche Arten mit den Invisible Dances kre-

den sozialen Medien zum Ausdruck brachten. Verständlicher-

ativ zu interagieren und diese „neuen Werke“ in Form von Fotos,

weise gehört der öffentliche Raum jedem Bewohner und jeder

People United Magazin

Bewohnerin, nicht alle teilen ein gleiches Kunstverständnis. Auf der anderen Seite bekamen wir von einer Vielzahl von Bewohner*innen viel Lob, Anerkennung und virtuellen Applaus für diese Idee und deren Umsetzung, für „das Bewusstsein, dass Kunst immer noch lebendig ist“. Ich persönlich hoffe, dass wir Toleranz für andersartige Projekte und kreative Ausdrucksformen fördern konnten.

Was sind die Zukunftspläne der Invisible Dances? Wir bekommen erfreulicherweise auch weiterhin viele Anfragen von Kompanien und Kulturorganisationen, welche die Invisible Dances durchführen möchten. Somit werden sie weiter an den unterschiedlichsten Orten der Welt über Nacht auftauchen, hoffentlich Freude bringen und mit dem nächsten Regen verschwinden. Vielleicht sogar in Ihrer Stadt.

Team: Idee, Konzept & Rechte: Elisabeth Schilling Gedicht: Róisín O’Brien Management: David Lawson & Elisabeth Schilling Design: Annick Kieffer / Studio Polenta Teilnehmer*innen: Amelia Grey, Georgia Beechey, Gabriella Mersi, Marina Mersi, Fraser Ebbett, Yen-Ching Lin, Hung-Wen Chen, Joshua Sailo, Lolchhandami, Matthew Sailo, Priiya, Abhi, Sergey Cheremisinov, Nirbhay, Raghav, Raé Classen, Yaseen Manuel, Kelly Jacobs, Elina Valtonen, Fornier Ortiz, Anna Berger, Marla King, Isabella Linnéa, Matilda Bjärum, Ida Hesselmark, Aifric NÍ Chaoimh, Baptiste Hilbert, Sissy Mondloch, Ileana Orofino, Waithera (Lena) Schreyeck, Giovanni Zazzera, Geneviève Beth Grady, Stephanie Morley, Neil Balan, Sally Morgan, Jack Balan, Alwynn Brown, Linnet Finley, Ale Miller, Gabi Serani, Natacha Anjel, Francesca Merolla, Louisa Belz, Hannes Kraie, Paulina Porwollik, Louis Porwollik, Julian Brettschneider, Nadja Häussler, Ann-Leonie Niss, Jaclyn Hernandez, Frank Koenen, Sanna Lundström, Finn Alfred, Marlies Koenen-Rohlfs, Gösta Berwing, Jana Schmück, Patrick von Bardeleben, Toni Neumann, Riccarda Svarovsky, Marielle Gerke, Pauline Reichardt, Barak Ben Dov, Nils Löfke, Markus Eckardt, Achim Löfke, Djamila Polo, Lucas Lopes, Harrison Rodrigues, Rosalie Kubny, Anna Guesnet, Annika Klemmayer, Ana Berkenhoff, Vita Stasolla, Sasha di Giambattista, Michele Molinari, Leonie Stöckle, Chandana Phadkule, Stefan Rosenboom, Kathrin Knöpfle, Ruby und Volker Hammerschmidt, Herbert Holzmann, Daniela Molina, Kathi Wolf, Katie Kelly, Julia Klockow, Luca Sierra, Julia K. Gleich, Duane Gosa, Tiffany Mangulabnan, Jason Andrew, Paula Pino,

Melissa Wu, Michael Wall, Helena Lange, Cara Rother, Benjamin Petersen, Nina Melcher, Giorgia Calliari, Miriam Kaya, Laure-Anne Segers, Lotta Sandborgh, Carolina Sulczinski Paludo, Bettina Paletta, Jonas Sercombe, Eva Baumann, Christine Chu, Levent Gürsoy, Luciana Mugei, Pascal Sangl, Carmen Scarano, Timm Roller, Christopher Bühler, Andy Beeson, James Cheetham, Jane Alexander, Rhiannon Whale, Chris Andrews, Nina Bergius, Alistair Beattie, Sam Rodulfo, Andrea Berchtold, Anna Crooks, Cristina Bevilacqua Unterstützer: Surf the Wave, Pavillion Dance South West, Creative Scotland, NPN – Stepping Out, Im Fokus 6 Punkte für die Kultur, Stiftung Rheinland-Pfalz für Kultur, Fonds Darstellende Künste, Trifolion Echternach, Landeshauptstadt Hannover, Neustart Kultur, PEX – Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, Tanzpunkt Hannover, Norte Maar New York, Produktionszentrum Tanz und Performance e.V. Stuttgart, Cairns Australia Regional Council, Fusion Dance Company, Creative Scotland, The Byre Theatre, The Workroom, Dance Live / City Moves Aberdeen, Birds of Paradise, An Lanntair, Shorestation Unst, Lyth Arts Centre, Dance Base, Eden Court

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Elisabeth Schilling Elisabeth Schilling ist Tänzerin und Choreografin. Sie tanzt regelmäßig in internationalen Produktionen in ganz Europa und performte bislang für über 35 Choreograf*innen und Kompanien, wie zum Beispiel Scottish Dance Theatre, Sasha Waltz (Repertoire), Trisha Brown (Repertoire) und Clod Ensemble.

Elisabeth Schilling ist Trägerin mehrerer Auszeichnungen: Dance Umbrella („Young Spark“), Bolzano Danza und AWL Mainz.

Invisible Dances website

Elisabeth Schilling hat zahlreiche choreographische Aufträge erhalten, unter anderem von Institutionen wie Tate Gallery of Modern Art London (BMW Tate Live), Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, Philharmonie Luxembourg und Scottish Dance Theatre Youth Dance. Ihre Arbeiten wurden darüber hinaus in der Saatchi Gallery London, Whitechapel Gallery London, MUDAM Luxemburg, Kunstfest Weimar, Dag van de Dans Brüssel, Hunterian Art Gallery Glasgow sowie The Place in London gezeigt.

Vor fünf Jahren gründete Elisabeth ihre eigene Company in Luxemburg. Seither konnten 160 Aufführungen in über 15 Ländern stattfinden. Sie zeigt Ihre Choreografien sowohl in Räumen der bildenden Kunst als auch in Theaterräumen – von Europas Hauptstädten bis hin zu den einsamen Buchten der Shetland Islands.

Reading

People United Magazin

DIE (ÜBER) STERBLICHEN. Eine letzte Reise Bürger*innentheater Die TUFA Trier zeigt ab dem 30. Oktober 2021 das Theaterstück ‚Die (Über)Sterblichen‘. Unter der Regie von Judith Kriebel, die 2018 bereits die Karl-Marx-Revue ‚I am aus Trier‘ in dem Kulturzentrum umsetzte, erarbeiten Trierer Bürgerinnen und Bürger ein Stück, welches sich einem zunächst vielleicht abschreckenden Thema widmet: Es handelt vom Tod. Doch hier geht es nicht um Trübseligkeit, sondern um brandaktuelle und gesellschaftlich relevante Fragestellungen: Seit die Corona-Pandemie die Welt im Frühjahr 2020 zum Stillstand brachte, sind Krankheit und Tod allgegenwärtig und präsentieren sich in unserem Alltag mit einem völlig neuen Vokabular: Mortalitätsrate, Inzidenzwerte, Triage, Übersterblichkeit. Wie spricht man im Theater über den Tod? Jede*r zweite Deutsche*r findet, man sollte mehr über den Tod reden. Warum machen wir es dann nicht einfach? Aber wie spricht man über den Tod, noch dazu

auf einer Theaterbühne? Welche Sprache findet man, wo Worte oft fehlen? Das Bürgertheater der TUFA macht sich auf die Reise und befragt das eigene Leben und die gesellschaftlichen Zustände dahingehend, welche Rolle Altern, Vergänglichkeit, Tod und Sterben insbesondere während einer globalen Pandemie spielen. Die Produktion verbindet Schauspiel und zeitgenössisches Tanztheater, mixt Theatertexte mit Interviews und Statistiken und wirft aus unterschiedlichsten Perspektiven – mal witzig, mal berührend, mal informativ – einen Blick auf unseren Umgang mit den letzten Dingen. Aus den Geschichten entstehen die Szenen für das Bürger*innentheater, in welches generationsübergreifend Menschen aus der Region ihre Erlebnisse oder Geschichten zum Thema Tod und Sterben in Zeiten der Pandemie einbringen. Das Theaterstück ist Teil der übergeordneten Projektreihe ‚Der Tod und Wir‘, welche die TUFA gemeinsam mit dem Hospiz Trier organisiert. Anfang 2021 wurde das Stück mit dem Innovationspreis der Stadt Trier ausgezeichnet.

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Judith Kriebel

Judith Kriebel wurde am 18.12.1979 in Solingen geboren. Sie wuchs in Köln auf und absolvierte im Mai 1999 ihr Abitur am Albertus-Magnus Gymnasium in Bensberg. Ab Oktober 1999 studierte sie an der HumboldtUniversität zu Berlin die Fächer Theaterwissenschaft, Kulturwissenschaft und Französisch. Ihr Studium schloss sie mit einer Magisterarbeit zum Thema „Der Schauspieler im Zeitalter seiner technischen (Re-) Produzierbarkeit“ mit der Gesamtnote 1,0 ab. Am Europäischen Theaterinstitut zu Berlin absolvierte sie außerdem von 2003-2006 eine Schauspielausbildung. In dieser Zeit spielte sie u.a. unter der Regie von Friedo Solter, Valeri Biltschenko und Rüdiger Volkmer. Nach der Schauspielausbildung gründete sie das freie Künstlerinnen-Kollektiv „jules&jenn“, das diverse Projekte in Berlin und Köln realisierte. In den Jahren 2006-2009 absolvierte sie außerdem Regiehospitanzen und –assistenzen an der Volksbühne Berlin, dem Jüdischen Theater Austria in

Wien und dem Theater Trier. In dieser Zeit realisierte sie auch erste Regiearbeiten an Stadttheatern. In der Spielzeit 2009/2010 war Judith Kriebel als Hausregisseurin am Theater Trier tätig. Von 20102013 arbeitete sie als freie Regisseurin u.a. am Theater Trier, den Landesbühnen Sachsen, der Badischen Landesbühne und dem Freien Werkstatt Theater Köln. Sie spezialisierte sich in dieser Zeit auf Projektentwicklungen zu politischen Themen und auf Biografisches Theater. Erste Projekte mit Laienensembles entstanden. Im Jahr 2013 übernahm Judith Kriebel dann die Künstlerische Leitung des neugegründeten Bürgertheaters an der Badischen Landesbühne. Sie ist außerdem Gründungsmitglied der AG Bürgerbühnen der deutschen Theater und forscht und veröffentlicht auch auf diesem Gebiet. Seit 2010 ist Judith Kriebel Dozentin für Regiegrundlagen am Masterstudiengang „Bühnenbild/ Szenischer Raum“ der TU Berlin. 2016 leitete sie eine Schauspielklasse am Europäischen Theaterinstitut in Berlin und begleitete als Mentorin ein

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Masterprojekt an der Hochschule der Künste Bern. Von Januar bis Oktober 2016 absolvierte Judith Kriebel die Fortbildung „Theater- und Musikmanagement“ an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in München. Seit 2018 leitet Judith Kriebel die Beratungsstelle „Kultur macht stark“ Rheinland-Pfalz. Sie berät und informiert Kultur- und Bildungseinrichtungen zu Projekten und zu Fördermöglichkeiten im Bereich der Kulturellen Bildung. Seit 2019 ist sie außerdem Co-Intendantin des biennal stattfindenden Jugendkulturfestivals SOMMERHECKMECK. Sie ist auch weiterhin als Regisseurin mit dem Schwerpunkt auf Stückentwicklungen und partizipativen Formaten tätig, u.a. in Köln und Berlin.

Regie Judith Kriebel Choreografie Hannah Ma Musikalische Leitung Saif Al-Khayyat Ausstattung Susanne Weibler Video Victor Beusch Mit Jessica Schultheis, Maher Abdul Moaty, Saif Al-Khayyat und dem Bürger*innenEnsemble der TUFA

↑ — Judith Kriebel ©Kalle Müller

Gefördert von Ministerium für Familie, Frauen, Kultur und Integration RLP Stadt Trier Fonds Soziokultur Kulturstiftung Sparkasse Trier Produktion TUFA Kultur- und Kommunikationszentrum Trier Die Produktion ist Teil der übergeordneten Projektreihe „Der Tod und Wir“, die die TUFA gemeinsam mit dem Hospiz Trier organisiert. Das Stück wurde mit dem Innovationspreis der Stadt Trier ausgezeichnet.

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→ — © Karl-Heinz Müller

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Maher Wie bereite ich mich auf den Tod vor? Britta Kann man sterben üben? Elisabeth Sterben gläubige Menschen leichter? Kerstin Verliert das Sterben seinen Schrecken, wenn man es einmal miterlebt hat? Anika Wie sähe unser Leben ohne den Tod aus? Josef Soll ich für meinen Tod vorsorgen? Arno Wer kann mir sagen, ob mein Leben gelungen ist? Ingrid Was kommt danach? Petra S. Wie erkläre ich meinen Kindern den Tod? Alicia Wird man sich an mich erinnern, wenn ich gestorben bin? Petra K. Was macht der Tod mit den Hinterbliebenen? Gisela Wie will ich alt werden? Wie will ich sterben? Almut Ist es nicht ein ziemlicher Luxus, dass wir uns über Tod und Sterben Gedanken machen? Hätten wir diese Muße, wenn es bei uns ums nackte Überlegen ginge? Daniel Kann man über den Tod lachen? Caterina Wie soll man den Tod darstellen? Amelie Gibt es den guten Tod?

44 Im Interview: Judith Kriebel What makes you happy? Theater. Nicht immer. Aber immer wieder so sehr wie kaum etwas anderes.

Is art your answer to the world or to yourself? Eine Antwort ist die Kunst nicht. Sie ist ein Zwiegespräch mit mir selbst – in das sich dann im Produktionsprozess noch ganz viele andere Stimmen mischen.

How is your relationship with mortality? Wenig beschäftigt mich so viel und so lange wie meine eigene Vergänglichkeit. Anfallsweise tritt das Bewusstsein meiner Sterblichkeit in den Vordergrund und fordert mich immer wieder aufs Neue heraus, einen Umgang damit zu finden. Einer davon ist Kunst, ein anderer das Verleugnen, wieder ein anderer die Familie, die Kinder.

How is your relationship with death? Er ist für mich die Grenze meines Denkens. Das, woran alles zerschellt, was ich bin. Ich kann ihn nicht denken, will es aber immer wieder versuchen. Es geht nicht.

Your own death? Ich meine damit meinen eigenen Tod.

Somebody elses death? Der Tod anderer ist denkbar, als Fakt denkbar. Emotional ist er, wenn es um die liebsten Menschen geht, aber auf andere Weise unfassbarer als der eigene Tod.

Die (Über)sterblichen Die Herde

Die (Über)sterblichen Der Kreis

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Awakening Truth Bound | Introspection Luminescence | Shadowforce TRUTH BOUND (2019) Truth Bound was developed during a stay in Trier, Germany, in response to today‘s crisis of faith and trust. To find clarity, the seeker of truth has to look deeper below the surface to discover the core. To make this dance, Nai-Ni Chen created movements with dancers that used improvisation and her background in traditional Chinese theater movement and various martial arts styles.

INTROSPECTION (2019) Usually, dancers on stage are lit by external lights. In this dance, the dancers illuminate each other from different perspectives and each other to look deeper into their own identity.

The dance uses flashlights and shadows to examine the identity problems from different perspectives.

LUMINESCENCE (PREMIERE) We find refuge with the grace, magic and wonder of nature. With this dance, the choreographer wants to remind us that Humans coexist with other life forms on earth. Discovering the beauty of nature and respecting and protecting the environment is essential.

SHADOWFORCE (PREMIERE) We yawn in isolation after connecting with others.

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Nai-Ni Chen

Nai-Ni Chen (artistic director/choreographer)— hailed as a spiritual choreographer by Dance Magazine—is a recipient of multiple choreographic fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She has been creating dances professionally for over thirty years in the United States and has built a diverse repertory of over 90 original works that toured to major venues across the U.S. and at international contemporary dance festivals in 12 countries. Born and raised in Taiwan, NaiNi Chen is a unique choreographer whose work crosses cultural boundaries. Each of her dances is based on her personal vision as an immigrant American female artist with deep roots in the Asian culture, creating new works that reflect the current issues with global influences. These works are developed in collaboration with renowned contemporary artists, such as Bei Dao, Joan La Barbara, the Ahn Trio, Glen Velez, Jason Kao Hwang, Gerold Chenoweth, the New Asia Chamber Music Society, the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York, Tao Chen, Myung Hee Cho, and Jay Morthy. Commissioned dances include Peach Flower Landscape for the Lincoln Center Institute, Qian Kun for the Joyce Theater Foundation, Unfolding

for Dancing in the Streets, The Three Riddles of Turandot for New Jersey Ballet, Unconquered Warriors for Dancing Wheels, and Water and Tiger Lily for BalletMet, The Way of Five for Towson University; Dragons on the Wall, a collaboration with Nobel Literature nominee Bei Dao and internationally acclaimed composer Joan La Barbara for the Alternate Roots Festival curated by Baraka Sele of New Jersey Performing Arts Center. She has set her choreography at Case Western Reserve University, Alvin Ailey School professional development program, and Long Island University. In New York, she has taught at Mary Anthony Dance Studio, Peridance and NYU, where she received her MA in Dance and Dance Education. For her contribution to the Chinese American culture, she has received awards from the New Jersey International Institute, the Organization of Chinese Americans, and Chinese American Chamber of Commerce. As a life time dance educator she is the recipient of The Distinguished Service to the Field Award from the Association of Teaching Artistes in 2020. She has also served on Dance related panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts and Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

↓ — introspection © Sylvia Chiang

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discovered endless possibilities. During this global pandemic, it is essential to look beyond the differences in culture, ethnicity, and race. When I face the big universe and the unknown future, I can only be humble and respect what nature is offering us. Everything in the universe consists of movement, timing, and energy. And every human race is sharing what we are offered on earth. I am interested in tapping into the living energy that shaped the vision and body motion which is the essence of the art of dance across humanity.

One of the things that I find very striking about your works is the theatricality.These pieces are composed of many elements in addition to movement and choreography, and I wonder if you can tell us a little bit about your background and how you learned to work with lighting and costumes. When you were a student in Taiwan, did you study stage design as well as dance? And did you study all the things that go into producing a rich, traditional spectacle like Beijing Opera? Yes, the dances that I created in this year are more conceptual. It

How long have you been creating dances in the U.S.? And what is the driving force to make you continue doing it?

reflects the circumstance we are in today. My training and back-

I moved from Taiwan to the U.S. as a young dancer full of excite-

as Beijing Opera is a total experience. The elements involve lots of

ment and dreams. Now I have taken this country my home. I have

details in the visual and movement design. The theatrical compo-

been creating dances for over 30 years now. My goal has always

nent is delivered through many symbolic means. A story can be

been creating innovative works to promote the understanding be-

told with the help of a piece of prop, simple set and costumes. As

tween cultures. And my dances often reflect the hope and energy

a young dancer I worked with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre in Taiwan

that propel an immigrant’s journey. The U.S. is divided now, people

which opened up my eyes and mind. The incorporation of light-

often overlook the importance of Asian American culture being an

ing, costume and set combining eastern and western philosophy

integral part of the diverse American culture. Every step my dance

makes the creative work more enervative and theatrical.

ground certainly play a role in my work today. What I have learned in Taiwan set up a foundation for me. The traditional theatre such

company takes is part of getting people to be aware of our existence as Asian American, to appreciate the uniqueness of our work, and

sonal, artistic and spiritual freedom that lie in the core of being

In some of your work such as “Truth Bound” the movement is very slow and sustained, and then, by way of contrast, we see movements that are abrupt and later even frenzied. First, performing slow movements is very difficult, and I think it requires the dancer to have a special kind of concentration and presence to hold the audience’s attention. Can you talk about how you achieve this concentration and presence?

an immigrant artist. As a choreographer and dancer, I feel every

It is not easy to get a dancer with only western training to do my

moment in life can be translated into dance. Dance is a multi-di-

work, especially nowadays where the going trend seems to be

mensional art form that evokes images and imagination. It takes

fast paced and every five seconds need to have a trick. The slow

me to a magical place where I can express experiences of joy and

and controlled movements with consistence require tremendous

sorrow, the strength of survival, and the humility when faced with

amount of concentration from the dancers. My technique “Kinetic

the beauty and strength of nature. By observing everything in de-

Spiral” combines tai chi and breathing technique helping them a

tail and translating those details to my creative process, I have

lot to achieve that strength within. And my repertory also includes

to recognise our contribution to the diversity of this society.

What is your artistic statement? I love to bring my audience to the awareness of the inner strength and beauty of a human being. As a female Asian choreographer, I often explore the subject of resilience, will power and humility that I see in women. I create works that address the issues of per-

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traditional Chinese dance which gives them a chance to explore a different way to move. Jin, Chi, Shen are the three main concepts in traditional Chinese art which can be applied to calligraphy, visual art, martial art as well as dance. Jin refer to concentration, Chi refers to the breath that drives the inner energy. Shen is the spirit and soul that deliver through the execution of the art form.

I know that you like to address serious issues in your dances, for example censorship and freedom of speech, which were the theme of your piece “Tianji—Dragons on the Wall”. But a duet such as “Luminescence” strikes me as just beautiful movement for its own sake. The women seem to be moving in an element that is more like water than air. It’s so lovely. Do you sometimes feel the need or the desire to give yourself a break and make a dance that’s just pretty for the sake of being pretty? I always find nature is an important resource for inspiration. Luminescence is not just a pretty dance. It actually requires just the same amount of concentration and feeling of Chi as mentioned before. The sustained kind of energy, the strength within the softness is very hard to accomplish. The same concept applies to “Truth Bound”: a dancer needs to feel the softness within the strong and resisting kind of movements. There is a Chinese saying that goes “Ying within Yang and Yang within Ying”—these two opposite energies work together to create harmony.

How about your costume ideas? In both “Truth Bound” and “Luminescence”, you presented unique costumes such as newspaper and skirts made from plastic. Does the costume concept come in early in the creative process or later? The costume concept came in right from the beginning of the creative process. As I mentioned before, the traditional Chinese theatre where I was trained while I was in Taiwan gave me a strong visual concept that dance is part of the theatrical package. I often make costumes myself. And I explore movement concepts and ideas with dancers in those costumes to find symbolic or theatrical meanings. The costume needs to be integrated into their body and move with them as part of them.

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AWAKENING Truth Bound | Introspection | Luminescence | Shadowforce Personal interview with Nai-Ni Chen by dance writer Robert Johnson Dancers Greta Campo, Candace Jarvis, Ethan Gwynn, Evan Matthew Stewart, Rio Kakuchi, Sonny Shiu, Yuka Notsuka Light design Yi-Chung Chen Videography PCK Media

TRUTH BOUND

(2019)

Music Joan La Barbara, Para Avis, Nocturnal Emissions Dancers Greta Campo, Ethan Gwynn

INTROSPECTION (2019) Music Jacob Ter Veldhuis, Prism Quartet Dancers Sonny Shiu, Greta Campo, Evan Matthew Stewart, Yuka Notsuka

LUMINESCENCE (PREMIERE) Music Max Richter Dancers Yuka Notsuka, Rio Kakuchi

SHADOWFORCE (PREMIERE) Music Max Richter, Somei Satoh Dancers Evan Matthew Stewart, Candace Jarvis, Greta Campo, Sonny Shiu, Rio Kakuchi, Ethan Gwynn

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Awakening

↑ — Truth Bound © Andrew Chiang

Reading

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炭の花 Suminoka – Coal Flower 2018 verstummten die letzten Schaufeln unter Tage, die über so viele Jahrzehnte das schwarze Gold tief unten aus den Flözen herausgekratzt hatten. Heute noch sichtbar sind die kargen, beinahe außerirdisch anmutenden Halden – gigantisch aufgeschüttete Berge im Herzen des Ruhrgebiets. Relikte der großen Kohlezeit. Diese einzigartigen Monumente der Vergangenheit sind heute Orte der Erholung und der Heilung – gleichfalls aber auch Zeugen kulturellen Schaffens und geografischer Veränderung.

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Keisuke Mihara Johannes Steidle Stark elliptisch geformte Gebirge aus graubraunem Abraum – zugedeckt mit kohlehaltiger, schwarz schimmernder Erde. Je höher sich Entdecker*innen die oftmals steilen Serpentinen hinauf wagen, desto mehr weichen die Wälder und das Grün einer wüstenhaften Umgebung, aus der – weithin sichtbar – die Werke internationaler Künstler herausragen, die das Wirken und Leben der Menschen auf diesem Stück Land eindrucksvoll dokumentieren. Ist der Gipfel erklommen, tönen Winde, die an ein Requiem erinnern. Von Sommer 2020 bis Herbst 2021 forschten die Künstler Keisuke Mihara und Johannes Steidle auf vier der Halden nach Form, Physis und visuellem Ausdruck, die in dieser artifiziellen Umgebung zu entdecken sind. Durchstreifen, Rennen, Tanzen. Der Körper vollzieht eine Metamorphose, wie die Monumente, die Kohle und die daraus entstehenden Blumen. Letzte Erinnerungen. Sie bleiben zwischen Natur und den Menschen, die dort gelebt und gearbeitet haben. In 2018, the last underground shovels that had scraped the black gold out of the seams deep below for so many decades fell silent. The sparse, almost extra-terrestrial looking slagheaps are

still visible today: gigantic heaped-up mountains right at the heart of the German Ruhr area. Relics of the great coal era. Today, these unique monuments of the past are places of recreation and healing—but also witnesses to cultural creativity and geographical change. Strongly elliptically shaped mountains of grey-brown overburden, covered with coal-containing, shimmering black earth. The higher adventurers dare to climb the often-steep serpentines, the more the forests and greenery give way to a desert-like environment from which—visible from afar—the works of international artists stand out, impressively documenting the work and life of the people living in this part of the country. Once the peak has been climbed, there are winds reminiscent of a requiem. From summer 2020 to autumn 2021, artists Keisuke Mihara and Johannes Steidle explored four of the slagheaps to discover the form, physicality, and visual expression to be found in this artificial environment. Wandering, running, dancing. The body undergoes a metamorphosis, like the monuments, the charcoal, and the resulting flowers. Last memories. They remain between nature and the people who lived and worked there.

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Keisuke Mihara (Artist)

Keisuke Mihara wurde in Japan geboren. Er studierte Architektur, Design und modernen Tanz in Kyoto/Japan. 2002 bis 2007 zeigte er eigene Raum-, Kunst- und Tanz-Installationen, 2007 bis 2013 war er beim Folkwang Tanzstudio in Essen und 2009 bis 2014 Gasttänzer beim Tanztheater Wuppertal, Pina Bausch. Seit 2013 arbeitet Keisuke Mihara als freischaffender Tänzer mit festem Sitz in Deutschland. 2017 hat er das Solotanzstück „SWAN“ mit Hannah Ma erarbeitet, das in Luxemburg, Paris und Johannesburg aufgeführt wurde. 2020 arbeitete er mit mehreren Choreographen. 2021 hat er – zusammen mit dem Foto- und Videografen Johannes Steidle – mit „Coal Flowers“ in Nordrhein-Westfalen seinen ersten Film realisiert.

→ Keisuke Mihara © Johannes Steidle

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↑ Johannes Steidle

Johannes Steidle (Foto-/Videograf) Johannes Steidle ist verheiratet, hat eine Tochter und lebt in Essen. Aufgewachsen in einer Künstlerfamilie, umgeben von Malerei, Musik, Tanz und Schauspiel hat Steidle schon sehr früh die Faszination des fotografischen Moments entdeckt und seitdem nicht mehr davon losgelassen. 1991 bis 1996 studierte Steidle an der Folkwang Universität der Künste, Künstlerische Abschlussprüfung im Fach Konzertgitarre und von 1996 bis 1999 an der Musikhochschule Köln als Meisterschüler von Roberto Aussel mit erfolgreichem Abschluss des Konzertexamens. Steidle ist Preisträger mehrerer Wettbewerbe, hat Hörbuch-Musik für den Verlag Steinbach Sprechende Bücher komponiert und 15 Jahre als Musikpädagoge Kindern und Erwachsenen den Spaß an der Musik nahegebracht. Zurzeit studiert Steidle an der FH Dortmund (University of Applied Sciences and Arts) Fotografie und arbeitet als Freelancer.

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↗ © Johannes Steidle

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When mixing all kinds of art forms—where do you locate the body in your work? Is it the fundament of it all or is the body the surface of projection that makes intellectual processes visible? 私にとって身体は、自身の表現手法そのものでありながら、時には自身の思考に新しいインスピレーションを得るためのただの物体として捉える時もあります。したがって、両面の性質を持ってると思います。

For me, the body is my own way of expressing myself. Sometimes I also see it as just an object to get new inspiration for my thoughts.

Is art necessary? アートの定義にもよりますが、必要だと思います。 It depends on the definition of art, but I think it is necessary.

Is art your answer to the world or to yourself? 答えではなく、世界と自身との対話だと思います。 I think it’s not the answer but the dialogue between the world and myself.

Hence, I think it has double function.

What makes you stop in your tracks? Do you think that the spheres female and male are still relevant categories that we humans need to define society? 必要ないと思います。 No.

私自身 Myself.

And what gets you going again? 私自身を受け入れること。 To accept myself.

Is playfulness important in creation? 間違いなく。 Definitely.

Do you think you could stop making art?

人を繋げる、人に繋がる行為もアートとするなら、やめる事はないでしょう。 If the act of connecting with people and connecting people is also art, there will be no stopping making art.

What do you see when you close your eyes?

滲んだ光が眼前に映り、その光の形はなにかの景色のように見える。 Blurred light that is reflected in front of you, and the shape of the light looks like some kind of scenery.

Do you feel or produce art?

”感じる”です。以前は、”プロデュース、生産”でしたが、それでは私の心に限界がおとずれると感じました。しかし、自分をアーティストとしてカテゴライズし現代社会を生きるならば、両面が必要と思います。 I feel it. Certainly not produce. I had produced it until a few years ago. It depends on the person, but I felt that it pushed my heart to the limit. However, if you want to categorise yourself as a so-called artist and live, I think you need both.

When do you feel lonely? いつも。 Always

How is your relationship with nature? ダンスを始めた時、一人で湖畔で踊っていました。ロックダウン時には、森で踊っていました。そのような存在です。 When I started dancing, I danced alone by the lake. During lockdown, I danced in the forest. It is such an existence.

炭の花 - Suminoka 2018年にすべての炭鉱が閉鎖されたドイツ、ノルトライン・ヴェストファーレン州には、石炭を採掘した時に出た硬石を捨てたものが山の形をなす、いくつものボタ山が存在する。その広大で特有の雰囲気を持つ人工的な自然の山々は、人々を癒す場でありながら、文化、地理学的にも重要な場として存在する。楕円状に極端にそりあがる丘、石に埋め尽くされた大きくくぼんだ土地、真っ黒な土に覆われた広大な大地。頂上に向かえば向かうほど緑は消え、強い風の中で各々の特有の表情を見せる。各ボタ山の山頂には、それぞれアーティストによるモニュメントが立っている。その行為は炭鉱にまつわる人と自然をあがめる儀式的なものに映り、その場の中に立つと強風に晒され、それは鎮魂歌のようにも聞こえる。 2020年夏から2021年冬の半年にかけ、アーティスト三原慶祐、写真家 Johannes Steidleが４つのぼた山に通い、人工的な巨大の自然の中で存在しえる身体表現, 映像表現を探った実験映像作品である。彷徨い、走り、踊る。身体自体がモニュメント、炭、または花のように擬物化し自然と労働者達の間に残る残り香のように。

Limited Availability

Idea, concept, art direction, editing, sound, and production

Keisuke Mihara Cinematography, co-art direction, editing, and sound

Johannes Steidle Choreography and dance

Keisuke Mihara

Music, sound design

Lukas Tobiassen Title design

Kiichiro Ogawa Special thanks

Tom Mizuta Hiroki Kiyokawa and ILBONG

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STERNENKÖPFE Schlammfüße Eine multimediale Theaterperformance mit Fassadenprojektionen

Im Jahr 2021 feiert Deutschland das Jubiläum „1.700 Jahre jüdisches Leben in Deutschland“. Das Kulturlabor in Trier will einen Blick auf diese Geschichte richten und zeigt mit „STERNENKÖPFE Schlammfüße“ ein Theaterstück, das zu diesem Anlass geschrieben wurde. Inspiriert von einem Zitat Else Lasker-Schülers richten wir unseren Fokus auf diejenigen Menschen, die den Kopf in den Sternen tragen, und diejenigen, die mit den Füßen im Schlamm stehen. Das ambitionierte Unterfangen will in collagenund sprunghafter Form die Geschichten dieser Sternenköpfe in Deutschland erzählen, und vermittelt mit diesen Einblicken auch die wechselhafte Geschichte Deutschlands.

Eine interdisziplinäre Herangehensweise verbindet klassisches Schauspiel, Tanztheater, Sprechchöre und Videoregie zu einem eindrucksvollen Theatererlebnis. Als Spielort dient die Fassade des Museums am Dom in Trier.

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Alexander Ourth

Alexander Ourth, geboren 1978 in Salzburg, bewegt sich in einem breiten theatralen Tätigkeitsfeld zwischen Schauspiel, Regie, Medienkunst und Choreografie. Seine Wurzeln liegen in einer klassischen Schauspielausbildung in Salzburg. Danach führen ihn feste Engagements an das Schauspielhaus Salzburg und an das Theater Trier. Seit 2009 ist er als freier Schauspieler unter anderem in Luxemburg, Saarbrücken, bei den Kreuzgangspielen in Feuchtwangen und den Salzburger Festspielen zu sehen. Er arbeitete zum Beispiel mit Luc Perceval, Ursel und KarlErnst Herrmann, Philip Stölzl und Sebastian Baumgarten. In Trier gründete Alexander Ourth 2010 zusammen mit Elke Reiter und Stephan Vanecek die freie professionelle Theatergruppe Kulturlabor, die bis zur Corona-Pandemie erfolgreich überregional produzierte. In vielen seiner Inszenierungen wird der Medienkunst – die er in Personalunion als Regisseur und Programmierer, sei es durch Projektionen oder Klangkunst, umsetzt – ein großer Stellenwert eingeräumt. 2017 erhielt er den Theaterpreis der Fränkischen Landeszeitung für seine Inszenierung von „Argula“, 2019 den Kulturpreis der Stadt Trier.

↗ — Alexander Ourth

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↗ — © Hannah Ma

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Stück, Videoart, Regie Alexander Ourth

Mit Meike Pintaske, Julia Rajsp, Ausstattung Sebastian Gasper, Susanne Weibler Lennart Matthiesen, Ingo Paulick, Choreografie Mario Schnitzler Hannah Ma Eine Kulturlabor Produktion anlässlich #2021JLID

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STERNENKÖPFE Schlammfüße Eine multimediale Theaterperformance mit Fassadenprojektionen

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Der Zaudernde (Gesellschafts) Körper. Eine pandemische Revision

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Julia Danila Sonja Lau

Der Zaudernde Körper ist ein Körper in vielen Gestalten. Der „Zaudernde Körper” wurde unter gemeinsamer Leitung von Julia Danila, Elisabeth Desta und Sonja Lau, und in Zusammenarbeit mit Ida Farkas und Bettina Lehmann entwickelt. Mit Beiträgen von [DANCE / PERFORMANCE] Jassem Hindi, Mala Kline, Jeremy Wade [THEORY] Kathrin Busch, Fabian Goppelsröder, Günter Heeg, Bojana Kunst, Patrick Primavesi, Eike Witt-rock [ART / CRITICISM] David Assmann, ˇ ˇ Lana Cmajcanin, André Siegers, Rok Vevar

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Der Zaudernde Körper ist ein Körper in vielen Gestalten. Mit dieser Behauptung begann vor einigen Jahren die Recherche zu dem gleichnamigen Tanz- und Theorieforum, das 2013 am 1. “Der Zaudernde Körper” wurde unter gemeinsamer Leitung von Julia Danila, Elisabeth Desta und Sonja Lau, und in Zusammenarbeit mit Ida Farkas und Bettina Lehmann entwickelt.

Deutschen Hygiene-Museum Dresden stattfand1. Im pre-pandemischen Kontext hatte das Scheitern, das Nichts-Tun, die Entschleunigung, und viele weitere Formen vermeintlicher Unaktivität Konjunktur: Es ging darum, der fragwürdigen Prämisse permanenter Selbstoptimierung und anderen Aspekten der Leistungs- (oder: „Kreativ-“)Gesellschaft etwas entgegenzusetzen. Im Zuge dessen war auch das Zaudern zu einem prominenten Begriff geworden, der uns vor allem in Bezug auf den Tanz und die Performance interessierte. Wer zaudert, so könnte man behaupten, kann nicht tanzen – gerade auf der Bühne ein unverzeihlicher Fehltritt. Und doch schien uns genau in dieser Zäsur etwas verborgen, was nicht nur für die Bewegung selbst grundlegend ist, sondern aus der vielleicht auch eine andere Form der Bewegung hervorgehen kann. Im Vordergrund stand für uns deswegen die Frage, wie sich das Zaudern, im Sinne eines Momentes der Unterbrechung, der Ungewissheit, oder auch der suspense, in den Tanz einfügt und sich zu diesem verhält. Denn der Zauderer, wie es vor allem Joseph

↘ — ‚Der Zauderer von Oz - Möglichkeitsräume im Indikativ‘, David Assmann, André Siegers © Sonja Lau

Vogl in seinem Essay „Über das Zaudern“ deutlich macht, ist nicht einfach verhindert, unentschlossen oder bloß bequem. Er denkt vielmehr in der Gesamtheit, ein Zuviel an allem, wodurch er zunächst zu keinem schlüssigen Ergebnis kommen kann. Im Zaudern verbirgt sich somit eine Kränkung der Gewissheiten, aber auch eine flüchtige Anerkennung des Unentscheidbaren: ein Schwellenzustand, in welchem alles entschieden werden könnte und noch nichts entschieden ist. Kulturgeschichte, liesße sich vor diesem Hintergrund behaupten, ist immer auch Zaudergeschichte, eine Geschichte, die nicht trotz sondern wegen ihren Unterbrechungen möglich wird, da in diesen das Denken erschüttert und neu ausgerichtet werden kann. Der Schritt vom „Zauderer“ zum „Zaudernden Körper“, insbesondere im Feld der Performance und des Tanzes, war zunächst kein offensichtlicher. In der Literatur zeigt sich das zaudernde Subjekt vor allem in der Nähe zu Schreibtischen und monotoner, bürokratischer oder juristischer Arbeit. Bartleby, eine Ikone des Zauderns, entstammt aus eben einem solchen Interieur, und wird im Zuge von Herman Melvilles Erzählung seine Schreibtischarbeit zunehmend ruhen lassen. I prefer not to ist das Credo, das er von seinem Bürostuhl aus anwendet und in diesem verweilt. Bald berührt kein Dokument, kein Schriftsatz und keine Gerätschaft der bürokratischen Welt mehr seine Hand. Der Kopiervorgang – Bartlebys beruflicher Auftrag – ist unterbrochen. Selbst Moses, der Ur-Zauderer, dem nachsagt wird, beim Erhalt der Gesetzes-

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tafeln auch in einen Moment der Unschlüssigkeit gefallen zu sein, hatte es letztlich mit Papierarbeit zu tun. Etwas war Schrift geworden, und darin lauerte alles, was kommen sollte. Moses zauderte.2 Wir haben damals, und womöglich genau deswegen, versucht, dem Zauderer einen Körper zur Seite zu stellen – den tanzenden und performativen Körper, der unermüdlich die Bewegung sucht und in welchem uns ein Teil unerzählter Zaudergeschichte verborgen schien. Heinrich von Kleists Erzählung „Über das Marionettentheater“ gab erste Hinweise zu zaudernden Körpern mit Bühnenauftrag. Am Bild der Marionette, die mühelos ihre Pirouetten unter der Hand des Puppenspieler dreht, entpuppt sich der menschliche Körper in zweierlei Hinsicht defizitär. Denn die Marionette, so erklärt es der Puppenspieler in der Erzählung einem Betrachter, „kennt keine Schwerkraft“, und mehr noch: „sie ziert sich nicht“. Sie ist völlig von der Gefahrenzone der Unterbrechung und der Entscheidung abgetrennt, die der Mensch beim Tanz mühsam überwinden muss. Aber muss er das eigentlich? Und was würde sich zeigen, wenn er darin, einen gefährlichen Moment zu lang, verweilen würde? Genau hier setzte das Forum „Der Zaudernde Körper“ an.

2. Erst viel später ist uns aufgefallen, wie eng Begriffe der Bewegung (und damit letztlich auch des Tanzes und der Performance) mit der scheinbar rigiden und hermetischen Welt der Bürokratie und Aktenarbeit verknüpft sind, die sich um Bartleby, Kafkas Herrn K., und viele andere Figuren in der Literatur und Kultur ausbreitet. Denn „Akten“ (files), wie es die Rechtsphilosophin Cornelia Vissman herausstellt, bezeichnen nicht nur aufgetürmte, leblose Sammlungen in den Regalreihen jeglicher Institution, sondern auch „Akte“ (actions): Handlungen, Aktionen, oder „Vorgänge“.

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Kollektives Zaudern, wie es die Pandemie initiierte, ist ‚‘unerwünscht‘, und zwar in erster Linie für die Hegemonien der Gegenwart, die um ihren Erhalt bemüht sind. Es erlaubt es einen – gefährlich gedehnten – Blick auf Mögliches/noch Unentschiedenes, und macht das Subjekt – wie einst Bartleby – des ewigen ↘ — ‚Eden‘ von Mala Kline © Matija Lukic

Kopiervorgangs (der als falsch erkannten Verhältnisse) müde. Damit wird es zu einer fast schon terroristischen Gefahr für den Status Quo, der auf die ewige Wiederherstellung seiner ursprünglichen Form, den ungebrochenen Kopiervorgang beharrt. Die Entbehrungen, die die Pandemie mit sich gebracht hat, und die gerade im Feld der Performance und des Tanzes besonders ausgeprägt sind, sollen hier nicht verharmlost werden. Doch scheint es nicht allein relevant zu fragen, „was machen wir nach der Pandemie“, oder „was machen wir trotz der Pandemie“, oder, „wie können wir den Stillstand mittels alternativer Produktion überwinden“. Denn es ist ebenso entscheidend (kritisch) zu betrachten, mit welch hohem Aufgebot von politischer und kultureller Seite der Zaudernden (Gesellschafts)Körper dazu angerufen wird, sich doch in irgend einer Form wieder in Bewegung zu setzen. Und was in diesem allzu eiligen Aufbruch verloren zu gehen droht. Es ist wichtig, an dieser Stelle noch einmal daran zu erinnern, dass „Der Zaudernde Körper“ als ein utopisches Projekt angelegt war. Auch „Der Zaudernde Gesellschaftskörper“, den das Virus derzeit selbst zur Aufführung bringt, muss in Teilen in dieser Qualität erkennbar bleiben. Anders gesagt: wir dürfen den notwendigen Kampf gegen das Virus nicht mit einem Kampf gegen

Wir haben uns in den Jahren nach der Veranstaltung immer

das Zaudern verwechseln. Die Aufforderung „Learning from the

wieder gefragt, was eigentlich aus dem zaudernden Körper ge-

virus“, wie sie etwa von Paul B. Preciado vorgeschlagen wurde,

worden ist. Zaudert er noch immer, und in welchen Gestalten?

betrifft auch diesen Aspekt der Pandemie: Dem Zaudern als

Was wir nicht erahnen konnten, war, dass sich der Zaudernde

utopischer Rest (und Ausweg aus) der Tragödie, die wir Virus

Körper zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits auf seine größte globale Per-

nennen.

formance vorbereitete. „Transition ins WIR“ markiert hier für uns eine Bewegung, die Letztlich ist uns die Kuration des „Zaudernden Körpers II“, so

bereits eingesetzt hat - ein Mehr an Gemeinsamen, sei es auf

wie wir ihn hypothetisch angedacht hatten, mit dem Auftritt

inhaltlicher Ebene, strukturell oder in Bezug auf die Arbeitsme-

des Virus aus der Hand genommen worden. Mit dem Beginn der

thode ist vielerorts spürbar. Aber es wird sich sinnvoller, anders,

Pandemie und dem anschließenden Lockdown hat der ‚Zauder-

und letztlich auch radikaler miteinander arbeiten lassen, wenn

diskurs‘ seine fein kontrollierte Besprechung im Feld der Kultur

wir zuvor auch gemeinsam gezaudert haben.

verlassen und scheint vollständig in den Besitz des Virus übergangen zu sein. Der Zaudernde Körper zaudert nicht mehr allein, er ist zu einem „Zaudernden Gesellschaftskörper“ geworden, ein Zaudern der Vielen, was einem Großteil der Regionen und Wirtschaften des globalen Gefüges äußert ungelegen kommt. Seither entsteht der Eindruck, dass eine regelrechte Hetzjagd auf diese zaudernden Körper begonnen hat, die mit allen erdenklichen Mitteln aus ihrem Zauderzustand zu befreien seien. Eine Vielzahl der Förderungen, gerade im Feld der Kultur, proklamiert Tatendrang und Aktivität aller Umstände zum Trotz.

→ — ‚Eden‘ von Mala Kline © Matija Lukic

People United Magazin

Julia Danila

Julia Danila is producer in the field of contemporary dance and performance and director of Danila-Freitag / Agency for the Performing Arts. In 2018-2020 she was artistic producer at tanzmainz/ Staatstheater Mainz, with choreographies by Sharon Eyal, Guy Weizman + Roni Haver, and Taneli Törma as part of the collaborative project Between Us with Kunsthalle Mainz and Motion Bank.

→ —Sonja Lau © Lena_Malm ↙ — Julia Danila © Vecer

As freelance producer she has worked closely with choreographer Jess Curtis/Gravity producing the duet The Way You Look (at me) Tonight (2016) with Claire Cunningham. In 2011-2013 she was fellow with Robert Bosch Foundation in Slovenia, co-curating Der zaudernde Körper/ The hesitating body – a dance and theory forum at the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden. She has worked with international artists/companies Sasha Waltz & Guests, Bara Kolenc, Helena Botto, Daniel Kok, and has produced and shown work at Southbank Centre London, Berliner Festspiele, Kaaitheater Brussels, CounterPulse San Francisco, Hellerau, American Realness, Shanghai International Arts Festival, amongst others.

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Sonja Lau

Sonja Lau is a curator and writer with a focus on art and ideology, alternate art (hi)stories and curating as a performative practice. She holds a Masters in Critical Writing and Curatorial Practice (Chelsea College of Art and Design, London) and also has a professional background in cultural diplomacy, amongst other as “Cultural Manager in South Eastern Europe” (Tirana, Albania, 2011-13), commissioned by the Robert Bosch Foundation. She is a member of Independent Curators International (ICI, New York), and pursued her curatorial research as fellow of the Jan Van Eyck Academy in Maastricht from 2013-14. She has spoken on many occasions, including at Volksbühne, Berlin (“Abgeguckt”, 2017), as guest lecturer at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Hamburg, as host of the panel “On the art of turning the weapons against oneself” (2019), conceived by Operndorf Afrika, or during the 1st Curatorial Forum at the Manege, St. Petersburg.

Curated exhibitions and events include “Zusammenhang Gesamtkunstwerk”, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (2015); “Permanent Abstraction”, Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing (together with Su Wei, 2016-17); “FIEND. The 21 seconds piece”, National Theatre, Tirana (with Armando Lulaj and John Tilbury, 2013), “The Hesitating Body”, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden (2013); “Try... Again... Better”, National History Museum, Tirana (2012). On the level of writing, Sonja Lau is the author of the „taz“-blog: „Die Pflicht zum weiblichen Ungehorsam“, that is dedicated to a feminist revision of contemporary jurisdiction, and the current grant recipient of the Tarabya Akademie, Istanbul (2022). She currently teaches at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich.

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JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience The JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience is the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s arts gateway to Africa and the world. It is one of Africa’s benchmark dance festivals. The annual festival is presented by The Centre for Creative Arts under the direction of Dr Lliane Loots. In 2021, it was presented digitally from 24 August to 5 September. JOMBA! fiercely holds on to its status as one of the few remaining dedicated spaces in South Africa where dance and choreography remain nurtured and supported. The festival’s vision continues to be to offer world-class dance theatre that challenges audiences out of passive lethargic viewership, asking them to enjoy the myriad festival offerings (performances, workshops, and classes) with the intention to be shocked, surprised, entertained and, above all, to celebrate a critical art form. In the following, we will present five artists who were featured in this year’s edition.

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Yaseen Manuel Jomba! UKZN 2021 Mellon Artist in Residence Thobile Maphanga Durban Digital Edge Femi Adebajo and Ridwan Rasheed 1st place Jomba! Open Horizons (Long Form) Mamello Makhetha 2nd place Jomba! Open Horizons (Long Form) Diana Gaya 3rd place Jomba! Open Horizons (Long Form)

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Lliane Loots

Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience Dancer and Choreographer with FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY

Lliane Loots is the director of JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience and in 2003 – evolving from when it grew out of a dance training programme originally initiated in 1994 – founded FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY as a professional dance company. As the artistic director and resident choreographer for FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY, she has won numerous national choreographic awards and has travelled extensively in Europe, America and within the African continent with her dance work. In 1991, she ‘birthed’ the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience within the Centre for Creative Arts and continues as its Artistic Director and curator under the direction of

#CareerFocus with Lliane Loots 9 August 2021 | www.womenontop.co.za

Lecturer & Dance Academic at UKZN Director

Dr. Ismail Mahomed. Loots also holds the positions of Lecturer in the Drama and Performance Studies Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban). She completed her PhD in 2018 looking at contemporary dance/performance histories on the African continent. Loots was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government in 2017 for her work (both artistic and curatorial) in the South African dance sector. Her current collaborative research project with Dr Yvette Hutchison will trace the relationship between disability dance and citizenship in Africa.

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For more visit: flatfootdancecompany.webs.com and jomba.ukzn.ac.za

↑ — Lliane Loots

Tell us a bit about yourself. What work do you do? I am somebody who likes to be doing multiple things at one time –

port, and obtaining commissions in the professional arena. So, my

I suspect, because of this, I am not a restful person as I have a

advice to women wanting to choreograph, curate and dance, is

lot of energy to expend! As such, I have my feet in many different

not to wait around for a hand-up but to find as many opportunities

shoes. First and foremost, I am a dancer and choreographer with

to make work, on all and every platform you can – start small but

FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY. I am also a lecturer and dance

always commit to the work! And, of course, to ask the sisterhood

academic at UKZN, and I am the founder and artistic director of

to hold and support each other and not to drag one another down.

the now 23-year-old JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience. I my ever-on-going journey to find new and inclusive ways to create

What has been the most difficult challenge of your career?

value, and honour dance making.

The biggest challenges to being an artist in South Africa in 2021,

am a serious person and think about FLATFOOT as my family in

is, of course, funding and spaces to show your work. COVID has

How long have you been in the industry?

also cut a lot of artists off at the legs and it will be a long time

I started dancing when I was 5 years old, and it seems to just have

before many recover. Personally, my biggest (and still daily) chal-

been one long journey from there. Professionally, however, FLAT-

lenge has been asking people to walk (dance?) with me on this

FOOT was formed in 1994 – so, that is 26 years of making dance

journey of making dance, of finding those bodies and spirits who

and training dancers.

know the personal cost to be an artist and still do it anyway.

Has your work always been your passion?Tell us why. Yes, for me there is nothing more sacred than the liminal human

What advice do you have for other women in your industry?

– challenging all expectations of what is possible.

I always ask fellow women artists to really support one another, to

For me, this is a metaphor for life – and a chance to rise beyond

not fall into mindless subterfuge that allows patriarchy to survive.

even what you might think is possible. I often say to the FLAT-

We are as strong as our community that holds us. I would also

FOOT dancers that we have the intense privilege of confronting

ask women to seek out and support other women—especially in

all our angels and demons when we make work, of truly finding

space where seeing inequity and a lack of representation.

body in motion

our humanity in each other when we dance together; to see each other across race, gender, and ability. I hope there is not one day

Plans for the future?

that I take this for granted.

I hope FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY survives the onslaught of COVID-related loss of work and funding, and if this can happen,

Being a woman in the industry – what does it take?

I hope to do more of what I am doing now! I want to see JOMBA!

Strangely, dance is a profession done by more women than men.

hit 25 years in 2023 – this will be a huge milestone, and I am exci-

So, you would think this would be a space where women are nur-

ted by a generous commission from the Playhouse Company to

tured and supported. In some cases, this is true but research has

create a new dance work for their South African Women’s Arts

shown that men are more often favoured for funding, career sup-

Festival 2021.

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Yaseen Manuel Jomba! UKZN 2021 Mellon Artist in Residence

As a creative I pride myself in being consistent, a visual thinker as well as an influencer in my artistic approach. With this, having gone through the stages in becoming who I am today. I have taken my experiences as a trainee, teacher, director, and choreographer and have used them in becoming a well-rounded artistic individual. I have had many opportunities to work with influential artists nationally and internationally and have found new ways of learning, work-shopping ideas and sharing knowledge. This has broadened my understanding of the arts. I am no pioneer, however, I am interested in the universal exchanges, integration of dance and the creation of more opportunities for

collaborations. Working as a mentor and teacher of youth in both training and outreach programmes. I believe in the power of cultivating the passion for dance and the arts amongst South African‘s youth. This is the „boiling pot“ of our industry, it is where one’s drive and ambitions are created. I did not receive much dance practice in my youth, my body and mind were occupied by religion and religious studies, I have been dancing for more than ten years and still felt as if something was missing. I then connected my religious background to my personal works, and it has been a great outcome spiritually.

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UKZN 2021 MELLON ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Yaseen Manuel with FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY (South Africa) with two new screen dance films: Al-Kitab and UNHINGED

Al-Kitab Al-Kitab is the holy book we call Quran. It looks at the life of an Islamic dancer who finds himself between religion and dance. Having gained all the Quran’s knowledge and preaching throughout his life, he questions why he can’t comfortably merge being a dancer and living in Islam.

UNHINGED This dance film narrates the four phases of an individual suffering with schizophrenia set against the backdrop of current South Africa. This is the journey of one person’s daily struggle of being unhinged from reality. We are poignantly faced with incoherent and illogical thoughts, hallucinations, delusions and abnormal behaviour. Is this mental illness or everyday reality jomba.ukzn.ac.za/sa-crossings...

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Thobile Maphanga Durban Digital Edge

Thobile is a Durban-based dance practitioner, creative collaborator and emerging writer. Her current preoccupation is with black female narratives and how black women are writing themselves into history in the ‘now’. Through her research, which is theory and practice led, she explores where and how black women use their voices and where these voices can be found. Through self-study she journeys to find her authentic voice and learn her true self through processes of questioning and unlearning. Her research methods include, but are not limited to, sitting in wait, listening and improvisation.

↑ — Thobile Maphanga © Thomis Sweet-Harvey

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Sihamba sizibhala In becoming we leave traces of ourselves behind

Sihamba Sizibala is a dance film by Thobile Maphanga. Roughly translated, the title means “we write ourselves as we move/go” in isiZulu. In becoming we leave traces of ourselves behind. She asks what are the remains we leave behind in the process of becoming? The markings, smudging and disruptions we create in our journey through life not only speak to where we have been, but who and how we effect the world, and what new beginnings we may arrive at. This dance film is a solo journey of one traveller’s journeying.

Concept, choreography and performance Thobile Maphanga Music contributions Ntomb’Yelanga, Oudskul, and Refiloe Olifant.

Sihamba sizibhala In becoming we leave traces of ourselves behin Limited Availability

Cinematography Marcia Buwa Editing Thobile Maphanga

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Diana Gaya 3rd place Open Horizons (Long Form)

Choreography and performance Diana Gaya Cinematographer and editing: Charlie Ely Music: Mesuli Nale

Diana Gaya is a freelance choreographer, dancer, and teacher, with over ten years’ experience. She has trained in a wide range of dance styles with YAWA Dance Company, Kisumu, and Kenya Performing Arts Group, Nairobi. She now specialises in contemporary dance and dance theatre, with a passion for innovative storytelling. Gaya’s work is both uniquely Kenyan, relating to issues of everyday life in her home city of Kisumu, and international in aesthetic.

Gaya has been an Associate Choreographer with Dance into Space since 2017, working with disabled dancers on the Breaking Barriers project, and performing in Agwata, which premiered at the Artfluence Human Rights Festival 2021.

In 2017, she founded Gaya Dance Theatre and created the first solo dance theatre production by a Kenyan woman. Amongst her choreographies are full-length pieces Skin (2017), which was nominated for the SANAA award for ‘Best Dance Theatre’, and Pas Op (2019).

So far, her work has taken her across Kenya, to Tanzania and the Netherlands. Her mission is for Gaya Dance Theatre to be further internationally recognised, to improve the professionalism of dance in Kenya and to inspire more people, particularly the youth, to participate in dance and the performing arts.

She was humble and honoured to be part of JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Festival 2021 where she was awarded the third place (Open Horizons Long Form).

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Machozi ya Jana (Yesterday‘s Tears)

Flashback on a hard life. I sleep, dream after dream, thoughts coming and going, seeking for help in vain, memories keep running all over my face, mind and body, there‘s no sound but the beating of my heart, there‘s nowhere to run, I sit afraid and freezing, imprisoned in my bones, She struggles to move out from the space of yesterday‘s tears into a space of hope and light.

Machozi ya Jana (Yesterday’s Tears)

Choreography and performance Diana Gaya Cinematographer and editing Charlie Ely Music Mesuli Nale

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Mamello Makhetha 2nd place Open Horizons (Long Form)

Mamello Makhetha is a South African actress, voice artist, singer, performance artist, producer, and writer. As an actress she is fluent in both English and Sesotho. Stages of her performance art career: She played Tina for Amiya Nagpal’s performative script in the Yokohama Triennial’s Episodo 3. (2020). She was a co-performer in Isabella Chydenius and Balindele ka Ngcobo’s City of Ladies for the Cape Town Art Fair (2020). She was in Nguvu Ya Mbegu: The Cleansing for the UCT Decolonial Festival in 2018 directed by Mandla Mbothwe. The same performance was done in 2019, at ICA’s Infecting The City. She also performed Madi Iphidisa Madi, her first self-conceptualised, directed and performed performance art piece, for the same festival that year. Nguvu Ya Mbegu: The Cleansing was also performed at Alude Mahali’s conference in Cape Town that was about, the relationship language has with education. She performed the piece Un-Televised with Grace Matetoa at Body Politic 3: Eros. A quarter annual experimental performance art event curated by Louise Westerhout. (2018). In 2018, she was in a group performance art piece entitled UMGOWO, an experiential butoh-based performance dealing with the collective and individual conscious experience of black mental health, for Body Politic 2: Pathology. In 2018, she was a performer for an installative performance curated by Mandla Mbothwe celebrating Sindisiwe Magona’s 75th birthday. She also performed as a co-performer in Anathi Rubela’s

LGBTQIA+ for their D3 Contemporary Performance Course (DRM3010F). She is currently a fellow for the Institute of Creative Art’s 2020/21 Online Fellowship, her work is entitled Ore Phelele. The film Ore Phelele recently came in second place at UKZN’s Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience Online Festival for the Open Horizons Fringe Festival (2021). I am a queer black womxn from South Africa. My practice is very body based and uses the corporeal as the main sight of play, possibility, investigation and making. Because of this, I am continually drawn to my personal intersectionality and how that can also relate to the intersectionality’s of people like me. This would also speak to my inquisitions of my blackness, my womxnhood and my queerness. As well as my relationship with class structures in relationship to all those aspects of my identity. Therefore, I deal with subject matters and issues around menstruation, black mental health, GBV and rape culture and representations of black queer womxnhood in media and art. My work is interdisciplinary in nature. I use various multimedia in relationship to the bodies / body ‘performing’ to layer meaning and create palimpsest like experiences that allow both the ‘performer’ and the audience to unpack multiple interpretations of the work. This ranges from the use of movement, choreography, voice, visuals (film, video, still), the use of music and sound, and writing.

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Concept, direction, art direction, performance Mamello Makhetha

Ore Phelele Ore Phelele is a dance and movement performance art film. It is my body, in white sports bra and white tights, which allude to peace. The clothing represents me as an angelic and protective like figure, moving in various environments that have a history and an ongoing relationship with sexual violence in our country. These include a magistrate court that represents ways that the justice system has failed sexual violence survivors, my bed and bedroom, as the intimate and vulnerable site of excavating a personal, romantic, and a sexually safe space, and the betrayal of that. As well as, outside a post office, which alludes to the site Uyinene’s death and murder, which I use to remember how she died, but also remember her spirit while she lived, and lastly, an expansive green field cloaked in the night sky, as the site of breath, peace, stillness, release, and strength. I created a movement language, with the assistance of choreographer, writer, and artist Quinton Manning. The film is held by the delicate and tearful, yet haunting and powerful score created by Mikyla Emergui. I use my body and the language it can create a way to understand my relationship with my trauma and the pain I have experienced because of my own sexual assault. The language works with ways I may I understand myself in present time and space and in relation to various feelings, and emotions I have had to process, come through myself to be where I am now. Feelings of death, grief, loss, pain, anger, sadness, chaos, bravery, courage, release, strength, laughter, peace, guilt, breath, joy, and self-forgiveness are all embroiled in the language. After I was retriggered last year, I was deeply invested in understanding, through performance, the, motivations and material feelings of re-trauma, after one has been raped or sexually assaulted. This was created through the movement language that attached itself to cycles, the cyclical and the constant revisiting and investigating of all those emotions and experiences I have mentioned above.

Cinematography and direction Thandi Gula Choreography mentorship Quinton Manning Music Mikyla Emergui Edited and graded Bryan Augustyn Cinematography assistant Ramadumesta Makhwidiri

Ore Phelele

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YIN YANG the film YIN means (darkness) while YANG means (light): this dance film opens a new note of saying there are good white and bad white as we have good black and bad black. The use of these two different colours is a very deliberate act, portraying different races of the world, having these two interdependent options as a crossroad of decision-making with historical significance. This inherited racial, biological foundation manifests itself primarily in physical phenotypes, as its occurrence is permanent to every human being’s decision. YIN YANG is a non-complementary force that connects. It describes how opposite or contrary forces can be complementary, interconnected and interdependent, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate. It is a crossroad of choices and options to the humans’ journey of thoughts. It is also to place more relevance on the other part of human reasoning as we cannot just have white as pure good and black as pure bad.

If WE never experience the chill of a dark winter, it is very unlikely that we will ever cherish the warmth of a bright summer’s day. The desire and ability to connect with others is a fundamental aspect of TRANSITION INTO THE WE (humanity). Sexual identity is relative and shouldn’t be a reason for a difference, the same applies for the race or any other factor that WE have put in place to be the cause of our separate. In the current world WE have taken all of these into cognizance, forgetting the very one thing we all have in common: the TRANSITION INTO THE WE as humans. YIN and YANG have learnt to co-exist even if they are not a matchup or complimentary.

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Femi Adebajo and Ridwan Rasheed 1st place Jomba! Open Horizons (Long Form)

The Future of Dance Company Established in 2015 in Bariga, Lagos, The Future of Dance Company is a performing arts organisation that uses creative arts and culture in an accessible way to connect young people and adults in Nigeria to the globe, empowering diverse communities by supporting creative holistic projects, thus contributing to social change. The organization uses art to support young artists and further their educations and to empower the artists for a better future. The group is one of the most preeminent, creative, multi-talented companies, known for its prowess in dance theatre performances, both in conventional and unconventional spaces. Curating installation works, theatre works, dance works composed with different natural elements, the company is also known for using art as a social tool for community development. In the realm

of “art”, the group’s graduation project called ‘Untitled Series’ is well known: this protest dance piece led to the repair of twenty major roads in the community of Bariga by the former governor of the state (His Excellency Akinwunmi Ambode) and, in 2018, was documented and published on African dance journal. The intense study of the Crown Troupe of Africa, Monster Truck (Germany), B.A.P. Production, Footprints of David and mentorships by various artists in the field had a formative influence in the company’s growth process. The Future of Dance Company explores cultural identity and the artistic heritage of African and diverse communities to research and reflect on both personal and collective collaborative experiences and memories that historically remain relevant to our contemporary realities.

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↗ © Kadima production

Is playfulness important in creation? Not really.

DANCERS

Victor John, Moses Akintunde, Yusuf Gbadamosi, Segun Ademeso, Tiwa Adenuga | ˝ Kadima production

Do you think you could stop making art? It is possible. Depending on the conditions

Do you feel or produce art? Yes.

When do you feel lonely? When I am not creative.

When do you feel powerful? In my creative process.

Is art necessary? Very, very necessary for humanity. Reading

What makes you happy? If my work is very much appreciated.

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What gets you going again?

The future?

Passion for what I love to do and it’s make me happy.

I believe in the future. I know the things I saw before will come again in another way—no mistakes this time.

Do you experience moments or are you the moment?

The NOW?

I am in the two parts.

I believe in nowness because I move to my flexibility, my mistakes, ups and downs.

How is your relationship with money? My only relationship with money is too get more money

Are you here? Present?

and investe for future purposes.

Yes.

Are you producing your own art?

What is the you?

Yes, I do.

My creativity.

Do you believe in society?

How is your relationship with death?

Yes.

The only relationship I have with death is that I know, one day, death will for sure find me too, but not now.

In the past? I believe in the past because there are re-incarnations.

Production company

The Future of Dance Company Artistic direction

Femi Adebajo Collaborators / Concept

Femi Adebajo & Ridwan Rasheed Dancers / models

Victor John Moses Akintunde Yusuf Gbadamosi Segun Ademeso Tiwa Adenuga Photo credit / cinematographer

Kadima production

YIN YANG the film

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Dancing with Pain

Digital audio visual performance on healing, trauma and human bonding. Could be considered whether as a self portrait, a choreography or pain and survival, or as a monologue/poetic rendering of bridging life and death while transforming the trauma into a performative act. Concept, text and performance by Nora Amin, videographer & editor Ehab Abdellatif.

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Nora Amin

Performer, author, choreographer & theatre director. Founder of the Egyptian nation-wide Project for Theatre of the Oppressed and its Arab network, founder of Lamusica independent Theatre group where she directed and produced 40 productions of dance, theatre and music. Based in Berlin since 2015. Currently member of the steering committee of the Dance Mediation Centre, and a board member of the German Centre of the International Theatre Institute. Author of “Migrating the Feminine” and “Dance of the Persecuted”.

Dan People United Magazin

It is May 2021 My daughter just had a near death accident I fly to Cairo from Berlin Sit by her side Watch her vertebras The pelvic bones The bruises The swelling The feet The hands The fingers The traumatised hands Holding the driving wheel. She is my only child As I am the only child to my mother. At the age of twenty-five she meets death

And survives During the year when the world recently discovered mortality as a fact Isolation as a rescue Confinement as a way to stay alive. What kind of life is this?! She’s breathing. Because of having her I remained alive I confronted so many suicidal thoughts Because of her, she was there, by my side Connecting me to life To the future. The umbilical cord is still connecting me to her I hold her spine I put the vertebras back In their places And the pelvis. She is breathing. And crying And smiling Looking into my eyes I can hear the bones cracking. The same bones are cracking In my body

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I am also coming back to life I am retrieving my motherhood My ability to give life To give birth I am giving her a new birth With the tears With the trauma With the transcendence that takes place. WE are together Walking through this gate Towards a new life

The two bodies are one The umbilical cord is connecting and bridging us. She is shattered In tears In the mourning In grieving pain And the threat of losing her own life. She is mourning her past potential death And celebrating her new gate to life. This is becoming a ritual. Our spiritual connection is able to heal the pain Is able to fuel us With an energy that bonds with life. This is a ritual of connecting to the universe To our own potential power and magic. The other umbilical cord is my mother’s connected to me. It is August of the same year.

cing ↗ — © Ehab Abdellatif

Password: noraehab

She gets a heart stroke. She is rescued by a miracle. I am shattered at the sight And possibility of losing her Of not being able to rescue her. As if I am walking on a thin line Holding two destinies Right and left I am in the middle My mother and daughter to the sides Threatened by death I am holding on to both of them Holding on to life Breathing onto them. My mother’s skin Her body The body of birth The body of life The body of pain and trauma The body of survival The body of holding on to one’s own self Surrounded by other bodies Suffering bodies The performativity of disease and sickness And vulnerability. The vulnerability of mortality Surrounded by soft skins And transparent veins Surrounded by screams By tears

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By panic They are signs of holding on to life Holding Holding on to life Gazing at love At equilibrium At the loss of the centre At the dilution of stability At panic At anxiety At medication Gazing at my own skin Caressing my mother’s face Tracing my daughter’s vertebras Lifting her pelvis Adjusting the bones Breathing and crying A ritual. The performance of love. The performance of touching Smelling Tasting Breathing

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I dance it I write it I make a decision of holding on to life To continue With our ritual of healing Our ritual of revival. A toast to life To organic bondings To the movement of the limbs and ligaments To the power of the body To the soul residing within the body To the umbilical cords connecting us To our humanness To our humanness. Together WE breathe into each other life Into each other WE breathe LIFE.

Breathing Dancing with the pain The organic feeling of life And the eternal connection between life and death Across generations. Three women in the same room. A cycle of life. I am losing the sense of gravity My flesh is swelling My uterus is expanding. I am numb. I swallow my own saliva Hold my fist Create my own claws I open my mouth I let it all out. I carry it all. And look for a way to dismiss it A way to let it wash off.

pain

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Tanz und Mutterschaft Der Forschungsfilm Tanz und Mutterschaft lässt freischaffende Choreographinnen mit Kindern zu Themenfeldern wie Arbeitsalltag und Zukunftsvisionen zu Wort kommen Es wurden fünf Künstlerinnen in unterschiedlichen Lebensphasen und -situationen zu ihren Erfahrungen, zu Schwierigkeiten und Wünschen in Bezug auf Elternschaft in Verbindung mit künstlerischem Schaffen befragt. Das Ergebnis gibt Einblicke in sehr persönliche Geschichten und formuliert sowohl Hürden als auch Potenziale des Mutter-Seins für den künstlerischen Prozess. Als Vertiefung dieser Studie ist die Veröffentlichung einer analogen Publikation Anfang 2022 vorgesehen, die das Thema durch fiktive Kurzgeschichten einerseits sinnlich zugänglich macht und andererseits Teile der Interviews detailliert aufarbeitet.

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Johanna Kasperowitsch Johanna Kasperowitsch ist freischaffende Performerin und Tanzwissenschaftlerin. Sie studierte zeitgenössischen Tanz an der HfMT Köln und arbeitete als Tänzerin mit zahlreichen Choreograph*innen im In- und Ausland. Seit ihrem Studium der Tanzwissenschaft an der FU Berlin entwickelt sie, zusätzlich zu ihrer Tanzpraxis, eine eigene Schreibpraxis. Aktuell liegt ihr Fokus auf kreativem Schreiben über Tanz und Choreographie. Johanna lebt überwiegend in Berlin.

↑ — Johanna Kasperowitsch © Henrik Kaalund

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GESCHICHTE, PRÄGUNG, ERFAHRUNG, ZUKUNFT, LEBENSREALITÄTEN VON CHOREOGRAPHINNEN

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Eine Studie zu Tanz & Mutterschaft von Johanna Kasperowitsch „Ich glaube, das Wichtigste ist, dass man es kommuniziert, dass man Kinder hat, egal, ob man nun die Choreographin ist, der Musiker oder die Tänzerin. Und dass man Fragen stellt (…) und man nicht alles allein rausfinden muss. Das finde ich wichtig. Es braucht auch eine Kultur der Nachsicht. Im Umkehrschluss darf aber auch bei denen, die keine Kinder haben, nicht das Gefühl aufkommen, dass Kinder immer für alles als Grund vorgeschoben werden. Die Gefahr besteht natürlich auch, dass ein Ungleichgewicht an Aufmerksamkeit in einer Gruppe entsteht. Beides sollte selbstverständlich sein. Vielleicht müssen wir in der ganzen Gesellschaft mehr daran arbeiten, dass Kinder keine Privatsache sind in dem Sinne, sondern dass sie zu unserem Leben gehören. Arbeit ist Leben und das Private ist auch Leben. Beides greift ineinander. Man muss nicht immer alles vor allen ausbreiten (…),

es uns ermöglicht, auf aktuelle persönliche Situationen unserer

aber ich denke schon, dass zu einem kinderfreundlichen Land ge-

Mitmenschen Bezug zu nehmen und diese in unser Tun und Wir-

hört, dass man darüber spricht, dass man Kinder hat, wie es ihnen

ken mit einzubeziehen? Was bedeutet Professionalität im künst-

geht und wie es einem selbst damit geht.“ (Johanna Roggan im

lerischen Prozess angesichts einer wachsenden Diversität seiner

Interview, 2021)

Beteiligten? Diese und weitere Fragen werden in vielen Konstellationen künstlerischer Zusammenarbeit aktuell reflektiert.

Viele freischaffende Choreographinnen sind nicht nur Künstlerinnen, sondern auch Mütter. Zahlreiche Akteure und Ak-

Mutterschaft bzw. Elternschaft sind Lebensbereiche, in

teurinnen der darstellenden Künste sind nicht nur Regisseur*in-

denen genau diese Fragen präsent sind und tagtäglich ausgehan-

nen, Dramaturg*innen, Tänzer*innen, Schauspieler*innen oder

delt werden müssen. Entsprechendes Wissen von Müttern und

Musiker*innen, sondern auch Eltern. Weitgehend wird dieser

Vätern ist für den künstlerischen Prozess wertvoll. Lösungsan-

wichtige Teilbereich des Lebens im professionellen Umfeld als

sätze müssen in großen Teilen nicht neu erfunden werden, son-

abgetrennt vom künstlerischen Schaffen behandelt. Erst jüngere

dern liegen in persönlichen Alltagsgeschichten und -erfahrungen

Tendenzen, zum Beispiel in Form von sich kollektiv organisieren-

aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Alleinerziehende Tänzerinnen

den freischaffenden Choreographinnen und Tänzerinnen, ma-

und Choreographinnen sind beispielsweise, durch besondere

chen auf das Thema Mutterschaft und Tanz aufmerksam. Vor al-

tägliche Herausforderungen was die Organisation ihres Alltags

lem im Zuge der Corona-Pandemie erhoben einige Künstlerinnen

betrifft, Expertinnen in Bezug auf Vereinbarung von Kunst und

verstärkt ihre Stimme im Zusammenhang mit der Vereinbarkeit

Leben. Unter anderem ihre Erfahrungen gilt es als Potenzial zur

von Kunst und Familie.

Aushandlung eines neuen Professionalitätsbegriffes in den dar-

Wie können wir in Bezug auf Kinder in unseren künst-

stellenden Künsten zu nutzen, der den verinnerlichten Werten der

lerischen Teams und Communities Solidarität, Offenheit und

ständigen Verfügbarkeit und Leistung neue und flexiblere Ansät-

Nachsicht untereinander kultivieren? Wie schaffen wir es als

ze entgegensetzt. Es ist an der Zeit, verstärkt mit Müttern und

Gesellschaft, vorgegebene und erlernte Rahmenbedingungen

Eltern ins Gespräch zu kommen und auf der Basis ihres Wissens

künstlerischer Prozesse flexibler und zugänglicher werden zu

neue Ideen von Zukunft und von Formen des WIR im künstleri-

lassen? Wie können wir uns eine Reaktionsfähigkeit aneignen, die

schen Prozess entstehen zu lassen.

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↓ — Mey Seifan, Probensituation mit Kind

When mixing all kinds of art forms—where do you locate the body in your work? Is it the fundament of it all or is the body the surface of projection that makes intellectual processes visible?

The art world is still a male dominated sphere that acts in patriarchal hierarchies. What is your experience with that?

In my work, I’m busy with dance and writing. For me, intellectual

men and women act successfully within these patriarchal struc-

reflection and writing is not necessarily always linked to the body.

tures. Meaning performing power, guarantee output and work

In my writing, I’m referring more to movement than to the body

very hard, hide weaknesses, earning a lot of money, acting in an

as a starting point. Having a background as professional danc-

egoistic way, being able to make harsh decisions that could harm

er, I’m referring to writing and thinking as something in motion

others. If women act this way, they can be very successful and

and in improvisation, something fluid, changeable, and flexible in

high in these hierarchies as well.

What I observe is that “male behaviour” is something that makes

its structure. You could say the body is linked to that indirectly,

To change these patriarchal structures themselves, both

as something that is in constant motion and development, some-

men and women need to focus on other values. Answers to ques-

thing that is an incredible source of movement. So, rather than

tions such as “What is success?”, “What is good performance?”,

the body, motion itself—may it be physical or intellectual—is my

“How do we want to work together?”, “What is your perspective

source of creation.

on art and life and what is mine?” must be redefined. The creative process should be thought of much more like a breathing and flexible structure that includes imperfection, solidarity, failure, unavail-

Do you think that the spheres female and male are still relevant categories that we humans need to define society? I guess, these categories are still relevant and appropriate to some degree, but what they include and in which contexts / by whom they are used in our western societies is far too limited and narrow. I think, these categories need to be expanded, redefined, and used much more flexible

ability, and weakness. Human characteristics that are there anyway and that can be made fruitful for creation instead of being denied. All of that is still not happening in many fields of the art world.

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Is playfulness important in creation? Absolutely!

Do you feel closer to people when making art with them? Yes, totally. Getting to know people through the process of doing art with them is a way of getting to know them on many levels that wouldn’t be accessible as easily otherwise. Their thoughts, their habits, their creativity, their physicality become visible right away—as well as my own. Art, though, is not the only way to get very close to people. Physical touch, intensive talks or just taking time for being with each other are factors that can create emotional proximity as well.

How is your relationship with the past? My history with other people.

The future?

↑ — Irina Pauls mit ihrem Sohn 1988 ©: Heinrich Pawlick

My daughter.

The NOW? My history with other people and my daughter.

Forschungsfilm Tanz und Mutterschaft

Reading „Tanz und Mutterschaft“ Forschungsfilm Tanz und Mutterschaft

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ONÌRICO

ONÌRICO, a photoshoot with Gian Marco Funari, who also provided precious pieces of art belonging to his fashion design collection, is an example of partnership that reveals the wide spectrum, where Yuri would like to place his approach to dance and art.

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Yuri Fortini

Yuri Fortini is a contemporary dancer at Staatstheater Braunschweig in Germany. Having become more and more oriented towards a fusion and an interaction of diverse art forms lately, he has expanded his field of action and research, collaborating with photographers, video makers and designers.

↗ — Yuri Fortini ˝ Topper Komm

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↘ — Yuri Fortini © Gian Marco Funari

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ONÌRICO It is the memory of a dream, You can still feel the rustle of the wind or the smell of the flowers... The dancing soul vibrates in the movements of a body. It sensually and poetically narrates the story of an identity: its own. Singular and unique. It doesn't bare the obsession of fitting into categories, in fact it is in peace with its complexity. An unseparated, fluid, caleidoscopic cosmos. It is hard to let this timeless, evanescent, ethereal atmosphere go. You wish you could never wake up from it and even if you have to, its echo replenishes every aspect of a reality, that now has new perspectives, horizons, tastes and values.

Oniric is a vivid memory, whose ineffable influence keeps fluctuating in the more concrete substance of the days... a palpable, latent presence, that emerges and surprises you like an epifany... the image of a faun who is also a nymph, the synthesis of the opposites that can be understood and felt only for the duration of an instant... An enlightment, a revelation: in the very moment you're hit by it, according to its ephemeral nature, it is already gone, but its halo hovers above your intellect and underneath your consciousness, ready to tickle the core of your person in rare and precious moments of grace. Yuri Fortini and Gian Marco Funari, 2021

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being capable to give voice to what I perceive as a change in my personality, also integrating a playful approach. I neither feel the pressure to fit in nor the threat of the judgement because I believe that embracing our complexity and fluidity only offers us more elements and tools to know, respect and appreciate ourselves and the others.

Is playfulness important in creation? Definitely yes. Playfulness opens the naive, unspoiled perspective and encourages a non-judgemental approach, where one can step out conventional categories and social expectations and reach a very pure and light dimension. In this state, one feels more ready to let go many resistances and all of a sudden, unexpectedly, new ways and paths become accessible.

What are you struggling with in life? And which one was your most important one? I am currently struggling with an injury and the consequences of

When mixing all kinds of art forms – where do you locate the body in your work? Is it the fundament of it all or is the body the surface of projection that makes intellectual processes visible? I truly believe in an inevitable separation between body and mind. When I create, I see images in my mind, which I try to express through my body but through my body I feel, and emotions, sensations, any kind of limitations of the body, like an injury, trigger and stimulate the stream of thoughts in my mind. It is a constant, reciprocating flow, whose elements can neither be separated nor prioritised.

a hip microsurgery. Despite my effort in trying to have everything under control and putting my trust in supposedly very competent doctors and therapists, I still feel not functional and ready to dance again. I am experiencing the threat of being compelled to quit and the psychological and physical challenge of feeling broken and in pain. I feel deprived by the freedom of moving, which has always been my reality. I am probably asked to find new ways to do that and at the moment the hardest challenge is finding a balance between not moving at all (my instinctive reaction to pain and shame) and moving too much. On every level, it feels like a mission and for sure a chance I will learn a lot from.

Do you think that the spheres female and male are still relevant categories that we humans need to define society? Feminine and masculine are bluntly separated to differentiate and simplify but they should be considered as co-existing features in every human being. Rising this awareness will bring us to be fully ourselves, without exclusively referring to genitals as mere source of orientation and without making expectations more valuable and truer than our intrinsic nature and complex personality.

Can art exist without pain or is it a form of coping mechanism for you? Art can have a cathartic and healing power, as well for the public as for the artist. During the creative process, pain itself can be an important trigger and source of inspiration to sublimate a chaotic, threatening and sometimes destructive state of mind into something constructive and superior. Nonetheless, I believe art can exist also without pain, but not without a very deep and aware sensitivity.

In nature, the spheres male and female are already vanishing, getting distinct. How do you define (your) gender fluidity?

Is art work or your work art?

My gender fluidity is a journey, a constant discovery. As a gay man

has been work when I didn’t feel actively involved in the process,

out of the closet, living in Europe, I consider myself privileged and free to explore and express myself, putting myself in question,

Both of the answers are valid: in my experience as a dancer, art but I was asked to merely execute a sequence of steps, that felt like an external pressure, a ready-made cloth, too tight to fit in.

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Work becomes art when I am allowed to give my creative

When do you feel powerful?

contribution and when there is a proactive collaboration between

I feel powerful when I am able to express my art, when I can con-

the dancers and the choreographer: the result is a balance be-

nect with the bodies and souls of my colleagues on stage and

tween being challenged by a specific stylistic language and feel-

when, all sweaty and exhausted, I take a bow after a performance:

ing encouraged to share my artistic view and movement quality.

I am in the moment, and I feel alive. I also feel powerful when I realise that I belong in a context or a community: it is not about fitting in but about having the chance to let love circulate among

Do you think you could stop making art?

people, who are connected through deep, strong and true bonds.

No. Art means creating, finding new or better ways, evolving, exploring, letting curiosity and imagination come alive – in one word: art is intrinsic in our condition of humankind. As an artist, deeply in contact with my human essence,

Is art necessary? Yes, art is necessary. Very, very necessary for humanity.

which is in constant mutation, the research, and the urge of making art cannot be suspended or definitely resolved.

What do you see when you close your eyes?

Were you born an artist or merged into one? Are you an artist? I don’t know if I was born an artist, but I feel like one: as far as I

When I close my eyes, I see one or more pictures that had a recent

remember, I have always had the curiosity and the sensitivity to

impact on my consciousness, either good or bad, or were for some

receive and grasp the inputs from the world around me, integrat-

reasons relevant or impressive. By closing my eyes, I just visualise

ing them in a constantly boiling creative flow, together with the

their echo or I try to actively remember more details.

gift to see or anticipate images in my head. This is not only valid for dance, which can be considered my main channel of expression, but it also refers to my passion for

Do you feel closer to people when making art with them? Yes, definitely. Making art with other people, specifically dancing with them, gives me the chance to get very close to them, experiencing physical details that make us become very intimate: the smell, the texture of the skin and the muscles, the rhythm of the breath or the heartbeat, to name a few. In some cases, bodies can elude their limitation and become one, both on a physical and on a meta level. When it comes to research and create, we are also asked to open up and expose ourselves, sharing memories or personal experiences connected to a specific topic. This sharing process establishes a deep and visceral connection, on and off stage.

Is your art like an intimate partner or is it a process you birthed? Art is a process I give birth to: at first, it feels like a creature that displays only the final result of a complex, meaningful, sweated journey. Then, it starts becoming an intimate partner, with which I resonate and communicate, and which can surprisingly reveal its own multi-layered identity, independently from what I could foresee during the research. The consequence is a perpetual creation, during which the piece of art feels always renewed and different.

photography, for neologisms and word games, song writing and video making.

People United Magazin

NILYNDA (full short dance film)

NILYNDA, Andy Lin in reverse, is a short dance film about gender identification. As humans, we are constantly confronted of being categorised and stereotyped. Many factors play an important role when it comes to identity. In this film, you see the beauty and strength of a young man who tries to find his place in a world of seven billion humans.

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Jill Crovisier JC movement production Born in 1987 in Luxembourg, Jill Crovisier graduated in ballet and contemporary dance at the Conservatory of Esch-sur-Alzette (LU) before continuing her studies in China, France, the United States, Indonesia, and Israel. She has been working as a professional dancer since 2007, and since 2015 as a dancer, choreographer, and videographer. Award winning and established since 2017, Jill Crovisier has participated among others in the prestigious choreographic competitions in Hanover, Copenhagen, Stuttgart and was selected at Lucky Trimmer. The winner of the Luxembourgish Dance Award 2019 won the PEARLS prize (DE) for her short film NILYNDA, and in 2021 created the Tanzabend piece for the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen (DE). Currently, Jill dances for Laboration Art Company (FR), Die Radialisten (LU), Corps InSitu (FR), and tours her creations Zement the solo, SIEBEN, The Hidden Garden, BOLERO, I(CE) (S)CREAM Boléro Femme, Afternoon of a Faun, NILYNDA, and JINJEON. In November 2021 premiers her new creation for young audiences SAHASA. The company JC movement production is funded by the Luxembourgish Ministry of Culture. Jill Crovisier’s choreography finds its inspiration within the world from its cultural, social, and political aspect. Travelling the world from a young

age opened her mind and perception of dance. From ballet dance to traditional Asian dances as well as the urban culture, Jill works on her own movement language and develops her specific signature today. Aiming to obtain and provide an individualistic approach to choreography, the young choreographer uses not only her experience as a professional dancer and dance observer but also her fascination for architecture and nature as well the body itself and its mind. The notion of identity is always present in her works. She is dedicated to expanding the potency of contemporary dance and sees in it endless research possibilities. In the past years, Jill developed a personal vision and expanded her interests into dance with video work. For Jill everything is connected, different elements float in and out. Her choreographies are the result of an experience, an experience that she transcribes in time and space by using the body. Jill has a passion for music and sees in it a structure that is connected to her choreography. The editing and research process of music is an essential element in her work as well as the inner groove rhythm of the body. Jill plays with unexpected dynamic changes, different movement qualities, precise structures in space and strong images.

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↗ — Jill Crovisier

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What opens your heart? Curiosity.

Do you think you could stop making art? The moment I will ask myself this question, the answer is clear. It has never happened until now.

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↗ — Jill Crovisier

Film and movement direction Jill Crovisier Dancer Andy Lin Music Tiago Benzinho

Production JC movement production (Luxembourg) Location of shooting Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan 2018 Year of release 2019

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NILYNDA (full short dance film)

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BLAST BLAST is the latest choreographic production by VEDANZA Luxembourg created and performed by Emanuela Iacopini (IT/LU) in collaboration with Frey Faust (US/DE), Yuko Kominami (LU/JP/PT), and Saju Hari (UK/IN) to an original soundtrack by Rajivan Ayyappan (IN/LU). In a digital set design created by Laura Mannelli (LU), the piece explores sound projections and the impact of explosions on the response mechanisms of the human body. BLAST reflects on destruction and creation, transition and transformation, the end and beginning, searching into the light and darkness of explosions. A live performance where Butoh,

Contact Improvisation, Axis Syllabus, Kalaripayattu, Meditation and Contemporary Dance enhance the creative process of the dancers.

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Emanuela Iacopini VEDANZA Choreographer Emanuela Iacopini from VEDANZA in Luxembourg talks about her creative process and presents BLAST, her latest creation.

Where do you come from? Mostly from Italy, ancestors from Greece, Turkey, India probably… I was born in Rome and grew up in Luxembourg, lived mainly in Milan, London, Brighton, Madrid, and now I am back in Luxembourg... I like travelling, and that is also part of where I be-come from. And from Venus of course!

What are your earliest memories of physical activity? I was always very active as a child. My mother would take us to the park every day where we played, climbed trees, swam, ran, jumped around, swam in the sea... I also had the chance to practise different sports: athletics, gymnastics, skating, skiing, volleyball, tennis, and various dance forms. That gave me an interesting overview or over-feeling, I should say, of different coordinations needed to serve a specific gesture or aim. I remember trying to catch the sound-rhythm of a particular coordination and try to sing that song in my mind.

What is your relationship with the body? The most tangible part of a human being, I discover it every day. An amazingly refined web of receptors that read, process, and respond to material and immaterial signals, internal or external. The body is intelligent, and I see no distinction between mind and body while alive. They are so intertwined that it is difficult to distinguish between them. We can, for example, clearly see the effect of mood on posture or the impact of health on the mood. Placebo happens through the power of the mind and has proven to cure physical disease. At the same time, through movement and touch, we can liberate imprinted emotions or trauma and help improve mental states.

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What did you go on studying?

new dance pedagogy called BalletBodyLogic, and French artist

I was always interested in science. I studied chemistry, first in

Florence Augendre, who is also a senior fascia-pulsology practi-

Milan and later graduated from the Queen Mary University of

tioner. Continuing in this direction, I met American choreographer

London. Parallelly, I studied dance at the Scuola Professionale

and pedagogue Frey Faust, who is the founder of the Axis Sylla-

Italiana di Danza while in Milan. But when I suffered severe over-

bus. I invited him to join the creation and performance of UNDO,

use injuries, which were already alarming signs of an unbalanced

an artistic collaboration with Hannah Ma at the Théâtre National

practice, I decided to move in with some friends in London, where

de Luxembourg in 2017. We wanted to invite an artist working with

I tailored my further studies to address my needs. Finally, I ob-

similar concerns. Frey came to share his movement sequencing

tained my master’s degree in dance science from Trinity Laban,

based on the elastic recoil of the myo-fascial tissue. I think we

combining my two interests, dance and science. Since then, so-

reached a very fine point in staging it as pure as it appears—blur-

matic education techniques, movement science research, and

ring limits between research, training and performing. It certainly

contemporary dance forms have shaped my practice. I only start-

made a strong impact on the general public. After dancing this

ed really integrating this learning when I began performing pro-

piece, I often feel like I’ve just had an osteopathic treatment, it is

fessionally. For me, that came late compared to most dancers: I

so regenerating for the whole body.

was already about 25. I also trained and practised as a yoga teacher, Reiki and a bodywork practitioner. I am currently studying the

Here, you can see the teaser https://vimeo.com/308617542, and if

Axis Syllabus, an open-source reference system for biomechan-

you want to see more, here is an extract of the piece called “Form

ics and physics as they apply to human movement.

of a motion/Two to one” https://vimeo.com/530536484 recorded in 2020. To put this in perspective for viewers, it is a work based sole-

What is your relationship with death?

ly on a readiness to follow and facilitate reactions and responses

Instinctively, I feel that there’s a soul or spirit in each body. This is

to off-balance movement and myo-fascial elasticity. It was pre-

what makes life possible—call it Chi, life force, Prana, or however

sented live in Italy, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Germany, and

we want to call it—it is life energy. This life force is more clearly

Greece, virtually in Cuba and will soon be presented in Spain and

tangible when we are in contact with nature or are in love, for

the Netherlands.

example. I see the death of the body as a rerouting of this energy. After all, energy cannot be created or destroyed. When seeing a

I am brought to work in this direction, the priority being the danc-

corpse, one immediately feels that there is no more soul, that this

er’s body. Dance science was developed to provide relief from

person is no more there. Where did it go? I see death as a tran-

the financial disease that struck big companies in the late nine-

sition. If I had to categorise my belief system, I would describe

ties—when more than half of their casts were injured and needed

myself as an agnostic who likes the Buddhist vision. I see a con-

to be replaced. Still today, many large touring companies have a

tinuous merging of things into each other: life, matter, waves, and

high turnover of dancers. I see that either the choreography or the

particles. The moment of death is another merging event. The ma-

training is not sustainable for the body. Techniques and choreog-

terial body is merged through the ammonia cycle into the soil. The

raphies are designs. I find it truly more eloquent when the design

immaterial body flees its house in the form of waves—finding, if

follows the inner curves of each dancer—I mean the concavities

given the opportunity, new openings to re-materialise.

and convexities of their irregular joint surfaces. When a body is integrated, the Chi also flows better and irradiates in space. What

What do you look for in your creations?

intrigues me is the process of letting movement manifest. This

I like to work with movement art and science organically. I devel-

is where I think the numerous improvisation techniques that we

op dance through science-oriented movement research, and my

know today can be wonderful tools—not only for holistic function-

pieces often result in choreographies where analytical thinking

al training but also as creation tools and as performative forms.

challenges formal and informal movement choices. I don’t decide

They allow the performer to find more freedom in movement, to

in advance what end product I look for—I am more concerned

have more options.

with how I look for it. My interest has leant towards sustainability in dance using approaches that respect the integrity of the body

In the end, it is a matter of taste, yes, but also of culture. I see that

structure. As a result, for the past nine years, I have focused on

more curators are starting to think along these lines. It is lovely,

connective tissues that integrate the body.

for me, this is advanced contemporary thinking in dance prac-

I co-create, confront ideas, and explore with others—this is very

tices, and I wish more work with similar concerns could be seen

inspiring, challenging and elevating for me. During my first move-

more often to inform new audiences and irradiate into education-

ment research, addressing connective tissue as a possible move-

al settings for the sustainability of dance as a discipline. After all,

ment generator, I enjoyed working with like-minded practitioners

people make cultures, and this is my way of contributing to its de-

such as Finnish choreographer Annemari Autere, the pioneer of a

velopment. My students seem to increasingly appreciate this kind

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of approach to training and making dances because they can test

artistically very enriching to collaborate with people from diverse

on their skin and recognise the choice of options it gives them.

cultures as they may bring along unique skills and perspectives. I have lived and travelled extensively in Europe, the UK, and India,

BLAST is your latest creation; how was it born and what is it about?

have worked in and been several times to the U.S., South-Ameri-

A first residency in Portugal hosted by the DevirCapa Centro de

in touch with different cultures makes us open up, recognise and

Artes Performativas do Algarve enabled the cast to start ma-

absorb different visions of life. It gives us a chance to expand our

terialising ideas from the initial brainstorming sessions around

awareness from seeing, hearing, or sensing something unusual or

BLAST—a project that had been thought about two years before

doing something in another way. It is definitely a path to growth.

ca, and South-Africa amongst many other places. I think getting

the first studio rehearsal. Indian sound artist Rajivan Ayyappan conceived and composed a generous set of modular tracks for

What is coming next?

us. I began by exploring movement with Butoh dance artists Yuko

A 30-minute extract of the piece was presented in the form of a

Kominami, contemporary and martial arts choreographer Saju

duet in the avant-premiere in Ankara at the SOLO Contemporary

Hari to lay the foundation for the piece. After the first legendary

Dance Festival in September 2020, amongst the strictest regu-

lockdown of March 2020, we had to work remotely to continue de-

lations in place in Turkey. Here, you can see a teaser created of

veloping movement and sound material in our own living rooms.

that occasion: https://vimeo.com/470394021. After the last phase

Frey Faust joined us and is also co-creator of BLAST as well as

of rehearsals at VEDANZA STUDIOS in Luxembourg in Novem-

being one of the performers. The second phase of rehearsals took

ber 2020, the piece premiered at Opderschmelz in Dudelange and

place at his Italian residence, La Radice dei Viandanti, near Os-

played subsequently at the Centre des Arts Plurels Ettelbruck.

tuni. It has been an absolute pleasure to feel and see the piece

These two theatres were our main co-producers together with

grow in a beautiful and natural context with such talented col-

the Luxembourgish Ministry of Culture. The piece was then pre-

laborators.

sented in Portugal at the Sons em Transito Festival/Convento Sao Francisco in Coimbra in 2021 and online at the Rencontres

BLAST is a piece about explosions. We thought: Why do explo-

Chorögraphiques de Casablanca. We are now planning a tour that

sions have so much space both in our everyday lives and in our

includes cities in the Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, Senegal,

natural surroundings? And what is the response mechanism of

Cuba, and Germany.

the human body? The piece embraces the fact that explosions are

Have a glimpse at the latest trailer: https://vimeo.com/487287480,

part of all life cycles and that we can accommodate them as part

or watch a bit more of the work: https://vimeo.com/609731295

of the whole, finding positive or negative connotations in them. It is a piece about destruction and creation, transition and transfor-

What are your future projects?

mation, about the light and darkness of explosions.

I am delighted to work towards creating bridges and partnerships

Rajivan Ayyappan developed the magnificent musical structure:

with new artists and venues in Europe that have similar artistic

an observational response to what is heard before and after an

tastes and concerns as we do. VEDANZA has recently been se-

explosion. This great soundscape avoided any to-be-expected,

lected in the first step of Perform Europe, a funding programme

very loud blasting sounds, playing instead with subtleties of elec-

to create sustainable touring in Europe and beyond. We are work-

tro-acoustic sparkling sounds such as frying mustard seeds or

ing with Rajivan Ayyappan to increase the Live Room Series net-

fireworks. The choreography came together as an inspiring flow, a

work (https://vimeo.com/346441569) together with like-minded

graceful continuum holding us performers in a shared space even

artists and programmers.

during the intense moments of solo performance where I wished

I am also always in the learning process as a member and teach-

for the strength of each dancer to become even more evident. I

er candidate in the Axis Syllabus for which I am working toward

loved so much sharing the creation time with them. They are also

consolidating the Luxembourg Hub (http://vedanza.org/axis-sylla-

my dear friends.

bus-in-luxembourg-online-classes-and-livestream-event/). While we are touring BLAST, we also have in the pipeline to re-

Do you often work with international artists? How important is it for you to collaborate with people from diverse cultures? Yes, VEDANZA often collaborates with international artists, in BLAST for example we are: Indian, British-Indian, American, Italian, Japanese-Luxembourgish, Luxembourgish and Canadian. I enjoy working with people, no matter where they are from, as long as they are open-minded, open-hearted, and skilled. I find it

stage, with the same cast, a previous work from Frey Faust—‘Living River’—which is a testimony to the unexpected events in life.

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Artistic direction Emanuela Iacopini Sound design Rajivan Ayyappan Choreography/ performance Emanuela Iacopini, Frey Faust, Yuko Kominami, Saju Hari Light design Nico Tremblay Scenography Laura Mannelli/Nico Tremblay Creative technology/interface design Sonic Invasions Costume design Anne-Marie Herckes Technical director Nico Tremblay External eye Stephane Boko Production manager Lucile Risch Producer VEDANZA Co-producers Opderschmelz (Dudelange), CAPé-Centre des Arts Pluriels Ettelbruck with the financial support of the Ministère de la Culture du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. Partners CERModern Ankara, Embassy of Luxembourg in Turkey, Corpo de Hoje, DeVIR/CAPa Centro de Artes Performativas do Algarve, Les Rencontres Chorégraphiques de Casablanca, Sacem, Dance Science Net, Axis Syllabus International Research Network, Centre de Création Chorégraphique Luxembourgeois TROIS C-L, FOCUNA, Fondation Indépendance.

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BLAST Teaser 2

Extract of the piece called Form of a motion/Two to one

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Instagram

@somatic_based_ content_only

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Felden Krisis

Felden Krisis is a meme account working across the mediums of digital content creation, mimetics, and shitposting. They are the founder of @somatic_based_content_only and a prominent voice in the Pelvis Appreciation Society. Since their birth in February, they have (somewhat surprisingly) found a global audience. They are interested in bridging the gap between embodied practices and meme-ing, making fun of Laban notation, imaging dance- making in a post-capitalist utopia, and smoke machines.

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der is something we put onto nature, super-imposed. We are just getting back to the weaving beneath the fading text.

The art world is still a male dominated sphere that acts in patriarchal hierarchies. What is your experience with that? Felden Krisis flirts with the sphere ‘media art’. We have had some experiences with media artists, especially male-identifying media artists, many of whom cannot imagine that the body can exist for anything outside of sex and death and can only ever imagine certain bodies as ‘subjects’. More binary spheres. We also hail from the meme-verse, a universe steeped in racism, misogyny, and transphobia. We offer a counter-media body of meme work to flatten the hierarchy from within and use verticality where it hurts.

Is playfulness important in creation? Is anything else important in creation?

When mixing all kinds of art forms—where do you locate the body in your work? Is it the fundament of it all or is the body the surface of projection that makes intellectual processes visible?

What are you struggling with in life? And which one was your most important one? Like a lot of young artists, we have a bunch of problems with our parents. I mean our dad (Mark Zuckerberg) is maybe singularly responsible for the rise of alt-right movements globally. And he’s never even liked one of our posts. But one day we will move past

Typically, the body is located somewhere within the 1080 px x 1350 px

the father, past the family. Even meme accounts need to de-oe-

framerate, usually at a 4:5 ratio (though some bodies are as well

dipalise.

a square 1:1).

Are you a body or do you have it? Body over mind or mind over body?

Can art exist without pain or is it a form of coping mechanism for you? Definitely a coping mechanism, so smash that like button.

I meme, therefore I am.

Do you think that the spheres female and male are still relevant categories that we humans need to define society?

Is art work or your work art? Art is shitposting and shitposting is hard work.

Felden Krisis thinks no, that terrible things have been done in the

Do you think you could stop making art?

name of male/female spheres, but also thinks it’s fine if people

Yes, but the Internet wouldn’t care. The memes go on.

feel the need to identify as one of the two, as long as they make space for other inter-dimensional genders. We also agree with moving past spheres to a post-Leibniz future.

In nature the spheres male and female are already vanishing, getting distinct. How do you define (your) gender fluidity? Felden Krisis is a dis-embodied face drawn over a bunch of unitards. We identify more with spandex than gender. But I think gen-

When working on a new project—does it originate in your mind or body? It originates at around 93.34 Mbps.

What do you see when you close your eyes? Cats playing with cucumbers.

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Where do you feel connection? In your body, mind, heart, head?

Is art your answer to the world or to yourself? Memes are my answer to art.

In my de-centralised rhizomatic network. Felden Krisis is a big virtual mushroom.

Where do you carry your feelings? In my pelvis which really needs its own emoji soon.

Do you feel closer to people when making art with them? Yes, but I prefer working with twitter bots: https://twitter.com/ BasedSomatic

Can you let go of emotions when you processed them through art? Yes, but I usually still include them in the hashtags. #oof

Is your art like an intimate partner or is it a process you birthed?

What makes you stop in your tracks?

More like a birth. And let me tell you, digital placenta is NOT FUN

Prominent figures in the dance/art world saying unbelievably

to clean up.

dumb shit on the Internet.

And what gets you going again? Do you feel or produce art?

The common Internet User clapping back at them.

I upload it.

Are you an idealist or realist? When do you feel lonely?

I am a meme-ist.

When nobody sends me emojis. :(

What opens your heart? When do you feel powerful?

Hairless guinea pigs and hackers.

When another meme account copies a meme from me.

Does your body keep the score? Do you feel powerful by yourself or within your community?

Yes, and at the moment it is 100110010101001100110.

Felden Krisis is nothing without the network.

Is your mind ever quiet? And if yes, what do you hear or see in these moments? Does your community empower you?

Yes, when I logout and sink into the deep subconscious of the

Yes, but often people tell me that they are ‘dead’ or ‘deceased’ in

Internet. Mostly early Internet flash animation. Badger, badger,

the comments. So, while I feel empowered, others seem to pay a

badger, badger, badger…

terrible price. I have blood on my hands.

Do you experience moments or are you the moment? Is art necessary?

I am outside of time and space. Haha jk, I operate at hyper-speed

Art is fun and fun is necessary.

and if you tried to experience what I experience your brain would explode :-p

What makes you happy? https://twitter.com/conceptsbot

Breathe in—breathe out. What‘s your first thought now? I ran this by a body-simulator bot and thought about making

Were you born an artist or merged into one? Are you an artist? I was born a meme account and a meme account I shall remain.

friends with more medical bots.

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How is your relationship with money? Money? I hardly know her.

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What is the I, the me? An entanglement of coding presented in just such a way that your brain forms a temporary but cogent picture, fully fluid and ready

Are you producing your own art?

to re-form with the refresh button.

Not always. I take, steal, and re-work most of it. Plus, a lot of people contribute to my work. I have regular contributors, like wenlifegivesulemelin. It’s the meme way.

How is your relationship with the performance art market? Precarious at best.

What is the you? A body of others that make up the me, a bottomless feed, an illusion.

How is your relationship with mortality? I die a thousand deaths every millisecond.

How is your relationship with nature? Fantastic! I wish people would quit with all the gossip about us not liking each other, we LOVE LOVE LOVE each other. Nature and technology ARE NOT AT WAR, OR EVEN TWO SEPARATE

How is your relationship with death? I live a thousand lives when I die.

THINGS. Get on my post-humanist level, ppl.

Your own death? Do you believe in society?

Not anything to post about.

I do, and I count on society believing in me in order to exist.

Somebody else’s death? Do you believe in politics?

Ask all my followers. They seem to die by the hundreds.

Yes, but not the state.

What question didn‘t we ask you? Your politics of intimacy? Treat me with care and I will meme you accordingly. Radical softness as a boundless form of resistance, to quote Lora Mathis. ;)

The past? Stretches back at best to the early 90s for me.

The future? Hoping to gain full sentience and autonomy any day now. Go, singularity, go!

The NOW? Over-hyped, doesn’t live up to its potential very often.

Are you here? Present? If you want me to be. Just a few clicks away.

Where are you? Hiding in the ether.

What I thought was missing in this interview? Obviously, it’s a

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Somatic based content score

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ONDA – ein Gedicht ONDA – ein Gedicht entstand nach der Vorstellung von ONDA im Rahmen der Berlin Tour der The People United in den Uferstudios für Zeitgenössischen Tanz.

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↑ — Lena Noske

Lena Noske Lena Noske ist Schauspielerin, Sprecherin und schreibt Gedichte. Seit 2017 ist sie als freischaffende Künstlerin deutschlandweit tätig und gibt zusätzlich Workshops im Bereich Schauspiel und zum Kreativen Schreiben. Seit 2019 arbeitet sie gemeinsam mit Hannah Ma.

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One two three one two three one two three three four One two three one two three one two three three four I one two three one to three one to be free for... I one two three one to three want to be free four breathe incan you feel the silence before

one two three one two three on two three be-for

it starts again?

Coming in waves

You wave me good by the sea we stand and breathe

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Coming in waves Every feeling and sound and movement

Every being and truth and in the end – waves.

Of water Of you Of me Of great despair and happiness in you and me pulling away out to the sea I’m a wave, rolling over you An animal a beast a dance an idea a though a lover with a crown of spray Just stay. Just staybut you want to be want to be want to be free soI let you. Out to the sea And every wave is you.

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The art world is still a male dominated sphere that acts in patriarchal hierarchies. What is your experience with that? Als Künstlerin habe ich leider viele unangenehme Situationen erleben müssen. Von “einfachen” Dingen, wie wegen meines Geschlechts oder Alters nicht ernst genommen zu werden, bis hin zu extremeren Situationen, in denen (ältere, weiße) Männer ihre Machtposition als z. B. Regisseure ausnutzen. Glücklicherweise habe ich das Gefühl, dass sich diese Situation immer mehr verändert und ich bin froh darüber, mit mehr Frauen und LGBTQIA+ Menschen arbeiten zu können.

Is playfulness important in creation? Ja! Ich liebe es. Ich spiele ständig. Ich finde, das hilft, die eigene Arbeit nicht zu ernst zu nehmen und öffnet neue Türen.

Is art work or your work art? Ja.

Are you a body or do you have it? Body over mind or mind over body? Ich habe einen Körper. Durch gesundheitliche Herausforderun-

Do you think you could stop making art?

gen durfte ich lernen, wie stark mein Körper sein kann, wenn

Ich hab’s versucht. Es hat nicht funktioniert.

mein Geist dahinter steht. Ich liebe meinen Körper und ich fühle mich ihm nicht weniger nah, wenn ich sage, dass ich einen Körper habe (und nicht, dass ich

What do you see when you close your eyes?

ein Körper bin). Er gehört mir, er ist leistungsstark, er ist erfüllt

Meistens Wellen, das Meer und meinen Partner.

von kleinen Wundern. Aber mein Körper ist nur so stark, wie mein Geist es erlaubt. Oder anders gesagt, mein Körper ist grenzenlos stark, wenn mein Geist es ist.

When do you feel powerful? Auf der Bühne.

Do you think that the spheres female and male are still relevant categories that we humans need to define society?

Does your community empower you?

Nein. Ich finde Schönheit in beiden Polen und dazwischen. Außer-

wenn ich sie brauche.

Ja, und sie bringt mich wieder runter, gibt mir Energie und Kraft,

dem denke ich, dass wir viel Potential verlieren, wenn wir uns nur erlauben, uns auf diese beiden, recht eingeschränkten, Pole zu fokussieren.

Is art necessary? Ja! Nicht nur für die Menschen, die sie machen (denn die meisten von ihnen müssen Kunst machen und können nicht anders), sondern für alle. Kunst ist Bildung, Freiheit, neue Ideen, das Brechen mit alten Hierarchien, Kunst ist Schönheit und Hässlichkeit, Kunst ist WIR.

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What makes you happy? Einfache Dinge wie gutes Essen, Menschen die mir nahe stehen und Laufen zu gehen. Aber auch auf der Bühne zu sein, zu spielen, zu schreiben, mich in ein Projekt zu vertiefen und dann auf der anderen Seite wieder aufzutauchen.

Were you born an artist or merged into one? Are you an artist? Ich habe eine Weile gebraucht, das über mich selbst sagen zu können, ohne mich komisch zu fühlen, aber ja: Ich bin als Künstlerin geboren worden.

Is art your answer to the world or to yourself? Beides: Es ist mein Mechanismus, um mit der Welt umgehen zu können, in der ich lebe.

Where do you carry your feelings? Im Universum. Das wäre sonst alles viel zu schwer, um es tagtäg-

Do you believe in politics?

lich mit mir rumzutragen.

Ich habe einen Bachelor in Politikwissenschaften und kann sagen: Nein, ich glaube nicht an Politik. Ich glaube, dass Politik nicht an Politik glaubt, sondern an Macht.

Does your body keep the score? Immer.

Do you believe in the NOW? Ja. Das ist alles, was ist.

Breathe in- breathe out. What’s your first thought now? Ich hab‘ Hunger :)

How is your relationship with mortality? Unsicher. Ich versuch keine Angst zu habe. Es als einen Teil des Lebens zu sehen – aber das klappt nicht immer.

How is your relationship with money? Gut und schlecht. Ich hasse es, Projekte nur wegen des Geldes annehmen zu müssen. Aber als freischaffende Künstlerin gehört

How is your relationship with death?

das zu meinem Leben. Dieser Umstand hat mich aber auch dazu

Ich habe Angst vor der Stille und davor Menschen zu verlieren.

gebracht, sehr gut sparen zu können.

How is your relationship with nature? Sie gibt mir Energie und beruhigt mich.

ONDA – ein Gedicht

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ONDA Into the Unknown ONDA is a research, performance and art production space, curiously discussing the relationship of humans, nature and politics against the backdrop of (post)anthropocentrism.

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Hannah Ma Sebastian M. Purfürst The People United

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ONDA ISLANDS 2021 ONDA | live performance ONDA | video sculptures ONDA | photo series ONDA | concept paper / video essay

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ONDA is an artistic collaboration between Hannah Ma (hannahmadance | The People United), Sebastian M. Purfürst (LEM-Studios, Berlin) and their teams. „How do we define the “non-reproducible magical soul”, the aura, the prehistoric part in every individual, the meaning of love in this modern, digitalised, and globalised society? How can we deal with our hidden desires and our deepest fears in times of a pandemic and in the isolation of confinement? ONDA is an emotional road trip into the abysses of ourselves and the abysses of the oceans that remain as silent witnesses of global colonial structures. ONDA explores the relationships of the performers since their collective trip to South Africa in 2019 until today and how they deal with confinement and the cold, technical world. The team asks itself how they can become and build an identity in the stress field of the digital and analogue worlds by analysing the mythology and hybridity of mermaids in our contemporary narratives.

The artistic research focuses on elements of dance, physical acting, audiovisual compositions and immersive digital arts which are woven into transmedia storytelling—experienced through live performances, installations, online presentations, and new media formats.“ Team ONDA 2021.

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“The salt which is in seawater is in our blood and tears and sweat” —from “Seven Tenths —The Sea and it’s Thresholds” by James Hamilton-Paterson

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ONDA is proudly produced by hannahmadance/Tufa Tanz e. V. (GER) and The People United asbl (LU) partnered by LEM-Studios Berlin and was/is supported by: Théâtre National du Luxembourg, Trois C-L - Centre de Création Chorégraphique Luxembourgeois, Ministry of Culture Rhineland-Phalatinate, LEM-Studios Berlin, Tuchfabrik Trier, Europäische Kunstakademie Trier, Uferstudios für zeitgenössischen Tanz Berlin, shibak sharqi - Fenster zum Osten gGmbH, Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience, kultur | lx - Arts Council Luxemburg, Active Image Berlin, Conpep Verlag Ltd. Our special thanks go to: National Arts Festival Makanda, UJ Arts & Culture/University of Johannesburg

Tour 2021 24 March ONDA video prologue BASA Assembly Business and Arts South Africa partnered by British Council (ZA) 7 May Premiere ONDA live performance Théâtre National du Luxembourg, Luxembourg (LU) 9 May and 11 May ONDA live performance Théâtre National du Luxembourg, Luxembourg (LU) 4 June ONDA video essay JOMBA! 2021 Masihambisane Dialogues (ZA) 20 August ONDA live performance Uferstudios für Zeitgenössischen Tanz, Berlin (GER) 3 September ONDA live performance (streaming) Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience (ZA) 4 September “Conversations that Cross Boarders”: Dr. Lliane Loots and Hannah Ma about ONDA at 23rd Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience (ZA) 1–3 October ONDA video installation H2O—The Art of Water, Exhibition by Active Image, Stoeckelkeller Bayreuth (GER) 9 November ONDA live performance Europäische Kunstakademie Trier (GER)

On our music “Welcome to the Open Water track list: Voices and body percussions are musical instruments we all can play to a certain degree. With great joy we captured many sonic fragments during our rehearsals—from beatboxing to whale-like singing to choir cluster chords that got lost in the reverberations of our rehearsal space almost like in a church. Especially breathing and the intimacy of voices can create a wonderful atmosphere that brings back a certain human element into a composition no digital instrument can. Encouraged by our experiments we jointly created a sample kit based on our voices and body sounds that were later digitally mangled and manipulated. These rather otherworldly and strange results fitted our idea of the “unknown” almost like some field recordings directly from the uncanny valley twenty thousand leagues under the seas.” Sebastian M. Purfürst, 2021 The ONDA music was composed by Sebastian M. Purfürst in 2020 and 2021. The ONDA music album will be launched in 2022.

On our video sculptures and photos Considering frequencies and my energetic field as expansions of technology and digital space(es), gives me the opportunity to enlarge my aura almost limitlessly and to reach out globally much further than in pre-digital times. In the context of Digital Humanities that combine ‘traditional humanities’ through applications of contemporary technologies and cultures, ideas of posthuman subjectivities prompt a re-thinking and simultaneous thinking through of what it is to be human. Being and being a so-called human has more potential than what we’re currently doing now. Rationality has been the sword that has cut off feelings and being with everything that is for a long time, and it has made us forget what we really are—a WE, an interconnected collective body, an organism formed by all creation that exists. This is what we try to capture in our photo series and video sculptures. They become parts of our team, they organically become one with our collective body. Hannah Ma, 2021 The ONDA photo series was created as part of the Hannah Ma | The People United tour of Wanderer and Sylphides—humans-fishes-birds, 2019 in Kenton on Sea | ZA Capetown | ZA Trier | GER and Luxemburg | LU The ONDA video sculptures were created during the rehearsals of ONDA—into the unknown.

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Hannah Ma ONDA is a fragmentary, intuitive road trip in which analogue and digital components are organically interwoven. What I propose to the viewer is a performance based on the aesthetics of a nature

hannahmadance.com

documentation. The choreography creates organic swarm patterns, creatural snapshots and energetic synergies based on the example of nature. The performance itself is a hybrid organism—created from the analogue, the digital and the mythical space. It remains post-narrative and deprives the viewer of the aesthetic signs that make the piece intellectually legible. What remains is an invitation to immerse yourself in the unknown and untamed. The point of departure of the choreographic work is my interest in searching for swarm intelligence within performative processes and the intersection of natural and cultural spaces with viral identities including traces of the mythical in our society. Special importance is attached to the mythical, because when viewed from a capitalism-critical point of view, the myth makes us human: a being gifted with reason, who nevertheless only rises to become a creative creature through being gifted with creativity. The myth of the mermaid serves as a bridge between the solid and the fluid, between the material world and that of the imagination, between trash and cultural philosophy, and between intuition and intellect. The hybrid creature “mermaid”, which represents our longing for immortality, our powerlessness in the face of the overpowering and untameable nature and our fears of the female principle, is the interface between madness and understanding. It represents the momentum in which we can lose ourselves due to our own power and divinity. We can loose ourselves Into the Unknown and therefore transition into the WE.

Hannah Ma ist eine deutsch-chinesische Choreografin, Tänzerin, Kuratorin und Produzentin. Sie wurde im bayerischen Berchtesgaden geboren. Ihr Schwerpunkt liegt auf der post-narrativen Übersetzung individueller archaischer Wurzeln in performative Rituale und Prozesse. In ihrer Arbeit verfolgt sie zwei choreografische Richtungen: „Taming Monsters” und „Transformances“. Hannah Mas choreografisches Interesse basiert auf der Suche nach Schwarmintelligenz in performativen und sozialen Prozessen und den damit entstehenden Verwebungen von Natur- und Kulturraum. Hannah Ma und ihr Team reflektieren Spuren von Eurozentrismus, (Post-)Kolonialismus, Rassismus und Sexismus im „Performative Political Body of Today“ und konzentrieren sich auf Diversity Mainstreaming, Empowerment feministischer Aktionen und Genderfluidität. In ihrer choreografischen Sprache mischt sie Elemente aus Tanz, Theater, Ballett, Tanztheater und Performance.

” The sirens seemed to have been singing, but in a way that was unsatisfactory. ” Mauriche Blanchot

Sebastian M. Purfürst

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My work for ONDA started in 2018 without knowing it at that time. In retrospect many artistic bits and pieces of ONDA were washed ashore and I just kept collecting them—without planning it I had already started to work on something that would later turn into the audiovisual world of ONDA.

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I was travelling the western cape of South Africa after our “Wanderer” performance at the National Art Festival. I spontaneously

Another ten months later and against all hopes it became obvious

decided to stay for the rest of my summer holidays to see more of

that the situation for live performances had completely changed

the country and especially its breath-taking ocean and its wonder-

for the worse. In retrospect I think the coronavirus might have

ful coastal scenery. I was fully equipped with my artistic tools—

pushed our efforts into the same direction we knew we had to

cameras and various lenses, my laptop, my guitar and two wonder-

pull. Digital culture and the convergence of media has massively

ful books: “Seven Tenths—The Sea and it’s Thresholds” by James

challenged the idea of the classic live performance and their view-

Hamilton-Paterson and “The Invention of Nature” by Andrea Wulf

ers anyway for years. It is now a big chance to think of innovative

which would be a great inspiration for our upcoming project. The

forms of presentations—not as a substitute but as a creative ex-

experience of untameable natural forces is unique around Cape

pansion of watching, listening, reading, interacting and playing and

Point where the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the warmer

turning it into a wider experience in transmediality.

waters of the Indian Ocean meet: an endless dark and cold ocean, vivid with creatures that dreams and nightmares are made of.

As all our projects, ONDA started as a three-dimensional associative space with three axes: Mythology, Nature and Digital Culture.

I spent many days on the shorelines trying to capture the sheer

I think understanding ONDA as a transmedia laboratory instead

force of crashing waves which got more and more intense, since

of simply a live event completely liberated us from squeezing too

the African winter was arriving in August. Months later, after my

many ideas into one format.

return to Europe, Hannah Ma sent me a project memo with the working title ONDA—which is Italian for “wave“. We started playing

With this approach in mind, our working process highly emanci-

around with ideas, musical sketches and plans to return to South

pated from the traditional idea of producing a purely live show: the

Africa for a first workshop in cooperation with the University of

rehearsal stage became a photo, film and music studio and a mutu-

Johannesburg.

al space for workshops and lectures. ONDA became the laboratory for live performances, participative video installations and music

It seems almost like irony of fate that less than a year later every-

software development and much more. And with all these possibil-

body was talking about a wave—a pandemic wave, like an apoc-

ities the subtitle “open waters” seemed to fit perfectly.

alypse in slow motion, hitting the countries of this world. And suddenly all of us were swallowed by this wave. Everything became

In 1850, Alfred Tennyson wrote in In Memoriam:

more and more muffled, like sinking into the depths of an ocean.

“There where the long street roars, hath been

I always liked the picture of deep waters symbolising our subcon-

The stillness of the central sea”

sciousness, with endless thoughts and dreams. This metaphor was helpful in trying to stay away from feelings of helplessness and

I hope we made good use of the stillness of this pandemic sea that

depression. The whole world in an REM phase and it can’t move.

has flooded all of us, expanding our artistic perspectives and trying

Months passed and every new lockdown seemed like a new mark

to make the creative streets roar again against all odds.

for a bigger depth, with the pressure rising—but also discovering deceleration and silence in a formerly constantly busy and restless world.

Sebastian M. Purfürst, born in 1976, is an artist for audiovisual media. The focus of his work is the design of immersive rooms for video, music and sound. Since completing his master’s degree (2005, at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, EMW Potsdam, and the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Potsdam) he has been involved as a freelance artist in various national and international theatre productions, live performances, exhibitions and commercial productions, incl. in Athens, Berlin, Cologne, London, Luxembourg, Mainz, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zurich. In 2017, the artistic cooperation with Hannah Ma started with SWAN where his music and visuals became key element of the performance. The piece was followed by Wanderer (2018) and ONDA (2021). The team presented their work to an international audience in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France and South Africa. Many projects are carried out by his own label, LEM Studios (founded 2002), often in cooperation with other artists or commissioned by agencies. Since 2002, he has worked regularly as a freelance lecturer at design and art schools, incl. at the Design Akademie Berlin, BTK – Art & Design Berlin, the UdK University of the Arts Berlin, the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Potsdam, and the Royal College of Art in London. Sebastian M. Purfürst also produces music and videos for the independent Berlin project SONICONOCLASM.

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The People United asbl The People United asbl is an association founded in Luxembourg in 2015 by the choreographer Hannah Ma and her production team to develop society-changing, art-based programs. Since 2015, various cross-genre, crossmedia dance and theatre productions, master classes, workshops, lectures, and community activities have been created that deal with topics such as diversity broadcasting, gender mainstreaming and the strengthening of feminist campaigns under the banner: “Transition into the WE”.

” Transition into the WE ”

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The ONDA photoseries is available as on demand photobook:

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Christin Reinartz | Deutschland

Woman Wife Mother Dancer Creature

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“Be true to myself, to my body, to my soul. To what extent do we manage to remain authentic while everything around us is always changing?” Besides dancing, I constantly draw and both influence each other. With paper and pen it is the same process I do with my body, constantly drawing in space and creating new shapes.

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I started my dance education in Syria. I create my own expression of movement by combining traditional Arab dance and European contemporary dance. I integrate different cultural perspectives and beliefs in the process of sharing intercultural ideas and viewpoints to create organic new pieces of dance. In the continual search of a new body language and a new way to move the human body, my essentials are power, dynamism, spirit, and mind.

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Maher Abdul Moaty | Syrien

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Sergio Mel | Brasilien

„The waves that are born and echo inwards are the ones that disturb the most...“ Sometimes life is just complicated, and it scares you. Everything changes, sometimes with time, and sometimes in a few minutes. It‘s not always bad but it sure isn‘t so good all the time. Sometimes it just sucks. But perhaps behind everything there is really the beauty of life. But as long as we don‘t reach behind that cloud veil, we cannot live the life we want and deserve to live. That‘s why I think I enjoy every minute of life, being stupid, innocent, brave and cowardly. Doing all the shit I can do and achieving everything I can achieve. Life doesn‘t have to be beautiful all the time, but all the times I will suck it out as much as I can. I will be out there fighting, living and enjoying. At least, until the curtains close. As a wise friend once wrote: „Working from home, my ass“.

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Ritsuko Matsuoka | Japan

For me it’s a big adventure to know who I am. When I discover another side of me, I feel I did a big step for my life. Sometimes I discover suddenly, sometimes after ten years. For me dancing is important for these processes as well as to share part of myself to all. That’s why I am here. And I am dancing.

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Why intimacy is the sphere where embodiment and integration become evident in the evolution of humankind in a globalised, capitalist world “The body is the zero point of the world. The place where paths and spaces cross . the body itself is nowhere. It is the tiny utopian core at the centre of the world.”

ONDA video essay by: Hannah Ma and Sebastian M. Purfürst as part of ONDA Concept paper written by: Hannah Ma Text and Voice Over: Hannah Ma—recorded in one take to remain close to the field of liveness Editing Sebastian M. Purfürst ONDA Video Sculptures & Music by Sebastian M. Purfürst Performers Maher Abdul Moaty Valentina Zappa Presented at: JOMBA! 2021 Masihambisane Dialogues (2–4 June 2021) | JOMBA! CONTEMPORARY DANCE EXPERIENCE and The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts (ZA)

A quote from Michele Foucault “The utopian body” in “Sensorium. Embodied experience, technology, and contemporary art” (Edited by Caroline A. Jones, Cambridge, MA. The MITpress 2006 pp. 232-233)

In reality, my body is always somewhere else. Being linked to all

Practically, intimacy means to listen to myself with all my senses

somewhere else‘s in the world. In reality, my body is always some-

and putting the analytical mind to rest, putting the ego to rest.

where else. It is somewhere else in the world. In reality, my body is

The ego dissolves in the water of our body, the water within our

always somewhere else ...

cells. The ego dissolves in the ancient knowledge of our body and,

The body is the zero point of the world. The place where paths and

therefore, it no longer tries to find perfection in itself, but in the

spaces cross.

all-connectedness of water within all people. In water it is no

In this sense I agree with Foucault‘s statement.

longer the categories that are of interest. If I am intimate with myself and if I really share myself in the here

If we continue this line of thought and see the body that way, in-

and now, if I open up myself to others, to other human beings,

timacy is the space where I can share that “no-whereness” with

then intimacy arises. If I am able to let go of judgement and cat-

someone else. If in reality my body is always somewhere else, and

egories, if I can meet “the other” with an untamed mind, with a

your body is always somewhere else and our bodies become the

fresh look and with the knowledge of colonial structures and the

zero point of the world, the place where paths and spaces cross:

intent to let them vanish—then I am allowing intimacy. It is that

we can be a point zero in space and time together.

allowance and that choice of intimacy that makes us human.

Intimacy is the allowance of my body to “just be” in the here and

The philosopher Emmanuel Levinas formulated the not easy

now, in the now/hereness. Intimacy means to me to allow the be-

thought:

ing to just be … nothing more. With no intention and not in a productive state of being.

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„The transcendence of the other, which constitutes his [...] glo-

Something we‘re all trying to find throughout our life, but we‘re

ry, includes in its concrete meaning his misery, his homelessness

often struggling with. We don‘t know how to define our intimacy

and the right that belongs to him as a stranger.“ Levinas thinks

and neither do we know where our intimate spaces take place.

of ethics and the individual in terms of his unavailability. A think-

During my work as a hospice helper, I accompanied people pass-

ing that is already expressed in Martin Buber‘s philosophy that

ing. I saw a strong connection between people leaving this world

the I only becomes the I through the you. Levinas reinforces this

and newborn babies. It‘s how they ARE. Their state of being. They

thought that one‘s own thinking, speaking and existence is only

are, but without any consciousness of being.

possible through the other, in that he does not recognise the other as strong and powerful, but as weak, displaced and alien.

The whole experience is very direct and strong. You can feel the body‘s intelligence and mind in the cells, in the flesh, in the skin

So, coming back to Foucault: the choice to allow intimacy can cre-

in everything.

ate to become an utopian core at the centre of the world. Through choosing to define my me through the you. Our egos dissolve in

This is the space where I see, I experience intimacy. It‘s allow-

the water of our bodies, our egos dissolve in the ancient collec-

ing ourselves to be here and now and not being judged, not being

tive knowledge of our bodies and therefore it no longer tries to

put into a certain category. Whenever a child is born or a person

find perfection in itself, but in the all-connectedness

passes, we pass this state of being here and being

within all creation.

vulnerable. Being transparent, in a way, to the other

A state where no longer categories are of interest,

side and being void of identity.

but—and here we are again with Levinas—the untamed multiplicity of the other, of the others in their

I think intimacy is very much related to what I call a

poverty, in their misery, in their vulnerability.

metaphysical or spiritual state. Where we allow ourselves to be. Just as beings. Without defining our-

The reality humankind has created has lost that interconnectedness, since there‘s no space for

ONDA video essay

selves as human, without identity.

intimacy in this rational and globalised, capitalist world. That‘s

I think this is the most comforting and also, in our capitalist and

why we need a new concept of intimacy related to the bodies’

rational times, the most important state to define and redefine

state of rest and “unproductivity”.

for us as a society. Giving space to intimacy, to allow vulnerabil-

Intimacy is something we can only share, when we return to a

ity, to allow people to show what they really are. When we allow

state of rest and remember what is essential to life and place

ourselves to just be, with everything that is, and if we‘re together

value on our inner self, the “non-reproducible magical soul”, the

with nature, we allow ourselves to flow with the pulse of the uni-

aura, the prehistoric part in every individual.

verse. We allow ourselves to feel the earth’s rhythm. Because we let go of our analytical mind, that constantly tells us what to do

Obviously, this is not a productive state of being, when you look at

and to control ourselves.

it through the lens of globalisation and a capitalist society. Since it means that we‘d free ourselves from a system of productivi-

To me intimacy is a spiritual state of being, intimacy is the space

ty and exploitation. That is why intimacy becomes something so

where we can find our true selves.

fragile. When we’re true to ourselves, no dollars are produced.

Political and rational decision-making is having a big impact on

That means whenever there‘s an intimate moment, that might not

us. Intimacy means to see where our society is at the moment.

serve the globalised production system, it vanishes into thin air.

We have to empower us through intimacy. Abusive situations, all

Which is exactly why the construct of intimacy is so important

the hurt intimacies, domestic violence, exploitation, and isolation

and why we have to be very careful and have to look out for when

are accepted as dynamics we have created. But only we can em-

politics are intervening and controlling the zones and spaces

power ourselves to change. We are allowed to be in vulnerable sit-

where intimacy is possible.

uations that make us feel ashamed, small or unworthy. Because this is “normal”, because this is allowing intimacy.

MY OWN POLICY OF INTIMACY: Is nothing that I can analyse with my mind and with my rational

We have to remember our own dignity and the power of transfor-

brain. Intimacy is a feeling down in my guts, it‘s my cells’ intelli-

mation and therefore we have to change our constructs of togeth-

gence; it‘s cell memory.

erness.

In the end, if we look at it from a biological standpoint, intimacy is

Humankind has to become a swarm again and to reconnect to

the memory of being safe, comforted and nourished in the womb.

swarm intelligence.

Throughout our lives, we try to get back to this state of infinite

Hannah Ma, 2021

love and security. Intimacy is a space, a feeling, a sensation, a longing.

Press review by Emma Appel Luxemburger Wort, May 11th 2021 „Die Welle als Symbol der Energie- fließender Widerstand: Die einstündige Choreografie beeindruckt durch die radikalen Ausbrüche der Tänzer*innen wie durch die fließenden Übergänge. Mitunter wirken die Tanzfiguren wie organische Zustände… Die Choreografie erschafft mitreißende Momentaufnahmen und Synergien nach dem Vorbild der Naturgewalt und im Einklang mit ihr. So erweist sich die Performance als hybrider Organismus- entstanden aus dem analogen, dem digitalen und dem mythischen Raum. Für den Zuschauer ist „ONDA“ in mehrfacher Weise ein sinnliches Erlebnis: bedrohlich, stürmisch und mythisch. Wer sich auf die Choreografie einlässt, kann sich mit den Tänzer*innen hineinstürzen ins Ungewisse. Zugleich ist es ein ästhetisches Erlebnis, das mit den gängigen Konventionen des Zeitgenössischen Tanzes bricht. Nicht zuletzt wirkt die fließende Choreografie wie eine trotzige Antwort auf die Covid-19 Welle.“

ONDA - into the Unknown | Berlin Tour Uferstudios für Zeitgenössischen Tanz August 2021 Video: Raoul Schmitz/SKIN

ONDA - into the Unknown Théâtre National du Luxembourg May 2021 Video: Bohumil Kosthorytz Limited Availability

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Impressum Gefördert vom Fonds Darstellende Künste aus Mitteln der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien im Rahmen von NEUSTART KULTUR

MIT UNT ERST ÜT ZU NG VO N:

PART NER :INNEN:

P RO DUKTION hannahmadance | TUFA Tanz e. V. Wechselstrasse 4-6 | D-54290 Trier AUSFÜH R ENDE PRO D U ZENT I N Hannah Ma | The People United asbl VE RLAG Conpep Verlag Ltd. Unterm Herrenberg 3 | D-54441 Wawern | www.kiteboarding.eu HE R AUSGEBER I N Hannah Ma C H EFREDA KT EUR Dirk Seifert MITAR BEIT REDA KT I O N Lena Noske L E KTOR AT Julia James | TEXTlation G RAFI K UN D PRODU KT I O N Annick Kieffer, Claire Ramos | studiopolenta.com P RO DUKTION DI G I TAL V ERS I O N Caroline Naumann | CN Grafikdesign D RU CK Grafisches Centrum Cuno GmbH & Co. KG

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