LOOK 2024

LOOK 2024

Guest performance series »LOOK« on dance & diversity

Curated by Silke Z.

After the successful DIVERSITY series, we are continuing our series of guest performances under the title LOOK.

The LOOK guest performance series explores the phenomenon of visibility and shame. How do we deal with body shame, sexual shame, biographical shame and status shame? Taboo topics such as sexuality in old age or social exclusion are also addressed, as well as the positive LOOK on a change in our common interaction in the future.

LOOK invites you to present yourself and take a look.

Under the artistic direction of choreographer Silke Z. and under the title LOOK, four guest dance performances focusing on the diversity themes of age(ing) and inclusion will be invited to the ehrenfeldstudios in 2024. The series will kick off with the guest performance TEMPTATION.

#1 TEMPTATION | Silke Z. & David Vogel

The first guest performance of the series LOOK on Sexuality in old age(s)

In TEMPTATION, 10 performers aged over 55, move between lust and loss, flirtation and shame, pleasure and pain and create a statement on sexuality in old age(s) in biographical excerpts and physical snapshots. TEMPTATION embarks on a journey to stimulating, lost and obscure places and is dedicated to the visibility of individual pleasure in old age(s).

TEMPTATION is the new production by the Silke Z. company and is being created in cooperation with Schauspiel Köln. The performers are made up of the OLDSCHOOL theatre ensemble from Schauspiel Köln under the artistic direction of David Vogel and performers from the Silke Z. company.

Artistic direction: David Vogel, Silke Z. Director: David Vogel Choreography: Silke Z. Performance: Friedhelm Friebe, Uta Gärtel, Anne Kaute, Felicitas Martin, Hartmut Misgeld, Bettina Muckenhaupt, Guido Preuss, Mina Rahimzacleh, Gabriele Seiler-Seidler, Majid Taatizadeh, Joalia Ellwanger Costume: Julia Misiorny, Anette Köhler Set design: Anna Lachnit Lighting design: Garlef Kessler Sound design: Liam Giles Production management & assistance: Hanna Held, Matthis Volkmar Assistance and internship: Joalia Ellwanger

#2 Las Muchas | Marieantònia Oliver

The second contribution to the LOOK series:

Las Muchas explores the fragility and freedom of ageing bodies that no longer conform to social norms. 

Las Muchas speaks of fragility, the kind that has to do with age, with bodies that no longer belong to the “corpus” of the social, that have ceased to be part of the official market, but are more alive than ever and, above all, freer: bodies that breathe, weigh, dance, seduce, move, and position themselves differently. Letting oneself be heard and letting oneself be penetrated by lived experiences: physical, emotional, accidental, political, of concealment and commitment.

A school of fish, of an emergent system, of an organism that is composed of many and manifests in a single movement. The common images that we all gather, because in the end, we all share similar emotions and situations. That shared identity that is, at the same time, an intimate one that belongs to many.

Las Muchas explores the fragility and freedom of aging bodies that no longer conform to societal norms. Directed and created by Mariantònia Oliver, this performance art piece features Oliver and a group of local women, capturing their shared emotions and experiences through dance and movement. The project highlights the collective identity and unique individuality of these women, embracing their physical, emotional, and political journeys and offering a profound reflection on the resilience and vibrancy of life.

Las Muchas Teaser: https://vimeo.com/78424199

Direction and Idea: Mariantònia Oliver Performance: Mariantònia Oliver und eine Gruppe von Frauen aus der Region Images: Cecilia Molano Music: Santiago Latorre, Paolo Conte und Dalida Lighting: Manu Martínez Assistance for direction and production: Jordi Nadal und Joana Maria Pastor With support from: Consell de Mallorca / Kreationszentrum l’Animal a l’esquena / EiMa creació

#3 Touchdown Dance feat. Angus Balbernie

The performance 1,000,000 ways to try and stop the rain was created as a touchdown dance piece by Angus Balbernie, who performs on stage together with blind dancer Stuart Jackson. Angus and Stuart speak of darkness and light, of silence and noise, of their dreams and sometimes of owls. The performance is an improvised experiment and poses questions on the themes of “otherness” and “growing older”.

On Saturday, September 21st, the panel discussion “Touch, Dance & Disability” with Katy Dymoke (artistic director of Touchdown Dance) and guests will take place at 6 pm before the performance starts.

TEAM + FUNDING

Artistic direction: Silke Z.
Administration: Andrea Kößler
Organisation: Caroline Simon, Katja Steinbach
Press work + public relations: Franziska Nagel

Supported by the Diversity Fund of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as the cultural office of the city of Cologne.

           

Upcoming performances will be announced here.

»It’s not just about how old you get, but how you get old«

SHARING ACROSS BORDERS #2

SHARING ACROSS BORDERS #2

SHARING ACROSS BORDERS #2

International Dance-Network-Festival

 

The international, innovative festival for dance performance and networking SHARING ACROSS BORDERS will take place for the second time.

On three festival days, SHARING is all about dialogue and the coming together of artists, young talents and the public. ACROSS BORDERS refers to our mission to build an international network. The PITCH (IM)PERFECT format offers young artists a platform to present their own work to experienced performers and thus to help them further develop their ideas. The ehrenfeldstudios invite its national and international partners from their studiotrade network to create a space for dialogue and exchange with six young performing talents.

Come join us for a weekend of discussing and performing at shows, talks, workshops and party!

PROGRAM FRIDAY 19.05.

19:00 OPENING  
19:30 DANCE PERFORMANCES

BAAL | GINOIDE (Spanien)

Year 2029. GINOIDE is a robot with female resemblance. „Nana“ was built following rules set by a neoliberal society. Rules that our bodies, real or fake, have to obey. GINOIDE, will make us think about sentimental and sexual relationships. Where is humanity heading to? What will happen to the reproduction of our species? The performers Catalina Carrasco and Gaspar Morey present the intergenerational piece GINOIDE together with Max. 

Performance: Catalina Carrasco, Gaspar Morey, Max     

      

YELENA ARAKELOW (PHYSICAL félagið) | WAITING FOR A DANCE (Island)

What do we experience in the state of waiting? If we wait together, can we collectively experience a desire for change? Unfolding time through repetition and nothingness increases the anticipation for something to happen. Perhaps something we don’t yet know …

Choreography and music: Yelena Arakelow | Performance: Baiba Vanaga and Yelena Arakelow | Costume: Sólbjört Vera Ómarsdóttir | Financial support: Rúv Tónskáldasjóður and UNM Iceland | Special Thanks to: Khetsin Chuchan, Eydís Rose Vilmundardóttir, Jóhannes Stefánsson, Sól Ey, Dansverkstæðið, Reykjavík Dance Festival and tóma rýmið.

PROGRAM SATURDAY 20.05.

13:00 – 14:00 WORKSHOP: studiotrade | SHARING KNOWLEDGE 

Studiotrade network shares experiences in self-management and networking for freelance performing artists.

14:00 PITCH (IM)PERFECT #1

Ido Grinberg | Keep in Touch (Sweden / Germany)
The performance explores the relation between the individual and the society in a changing world, and examines the movement created in the interaction between the body and the screen through the sense of touch.  

Dessa Ganda | Erb-beben (Germany)
Erb-beben is a multidisciplinary exploration of the socio-philosophical significance of traditions, legacies and heritage. A project with live music, theatre, texts and songs. 

Thaddäus Maria Jungmann, Daniela Riebesam & Carolina Brinkmann | JUNGMANN // JUNGHEINRICH (Germany)
The performance explores the physical relationship between a human and a machine body. The pas-de-deux addresses experiences of discrimination Jungmann made as a queer person jobbing in a logistics centre.

20:00 DANCE PERFORMANCE

LOW AIR Vilnius city dance theatre | Me Two / We, The Clique (Lithuania)

A group of young dancers share their experiences of growing up between developing queer identities, sexual harassment and power abuse. The performance portraits personal perspectives and conveys the importance of open discussion in creating a sense of belonging and community within The Clique. The audience is invited to revisit vibrant teen-hood, through the lens of the spectator, a parent, a teacher, and a decision-maker, and to reflect on the boundaries of power in interpersonal and intergenerational relationships.   

Idea, choreographer: Airida Gudaite | Dancers: Greta Snitkute, Arminas Kazanavicius, Rokas Bugys, Ugne Laurinaviciute, Grete Vosyliute, Elena Milaknyte, Beatrice Saltenyte, Emilija Ieva Giedraityte, Barbora Mickute, Aura Sriubsaite, Saule Buciunaite, Smilte Kavoliunaite | Director: Jonas Tertelis | Composer: Agnė Matuleviciute | Scenographer: Renata Valcik, Emilis Seputis | Light designer: Julius Kursys | Producer: Laurynas Zakevicius | Manager: Gabriele Kundrotaite 

21:30 CHAT – CHOP – CHEERS!

Ain’t no party like a kitchen party! According to this principle, we provide performers, young artists and the public a space to get curious, to get to know each other better and to exchange ideas and experiences informally while we prepare dinner all together. After dinner, it’s time to hit the dancefloor! 

PROGRAM SUNDAY 21.05.

10:00 – 12:00 WORKSHOP: LOWAIR | GROOVE YOUR FLOW

LOWAIR experiments with different forms of movement and dance styles. Laurynas and Airida’s creative exercises encourage to build interdisciplinary bridges. Their workshop connects Breaking Transitions, Isolations and Grooves from Hip-Hop, Intelligent House and Jazz Footwork. Open for all levels. 

13:00 PITCH (IM)PERFECT #2 

Mariona Jaume & Maya Triay | TRENTA-SET I MIG (Spain)
Our paths create a multitude of possibilities: encounters, crossings, approaches and distances. Tension and curiosity draw lines in the common and individual space. Simultaneity of seemingly contradictory realities will be explored through dance.

Hanna Held, Vivien Kovarbasic, Vika Grin, Rina Schmeing & Andrea Kößler | FOODPORN (Germany)
In FOODPORN, the performers put food at the centre of their feminist utopia and offer an invitation to collective seduction through the seemingly sinful charms of food.

Ema Senkuvienė, Marius Eidrigevičius & Greta Snitkutė | Truth or Dare (Lithuania)
As pieces of a global game we move on the space-like game board, hoping to be on the right side at the end. But: What is right for you? The performers reflect on their own origins and their history. 

CREDITS

Artistic direction: Silke Z.
Network partner:
studiotrade 
Organisation/Production Management:
Anna Boldt
Administration:
Carina Graf
Photo:
Audrius Solominas
Graphics:
Caroline Simon

FUNDING

        

   

      

DIVERSITY

DIVERSITY

Guest performance series »DIVERSITY

Curated by Silke Z.

In the guest performance series DIVERSITY, Silke Z. and die metabolisten invite national and international dance productions to ehrenfeldstudios that artistically negotiate the themes of INCLUSION & PARTICIPATION // GENDER & SEXUALITY // RACISM & PRIVILEGE // AGE & VISIBILITY. The topics of the DIVERSITY discourse are explicitly linked in the repertoire here and their visibility is to be made effective in the long term.

Each of the invited guest performances will be accompanied by a duo dance piece by Silke Z. with dancers from the ensemble die metabolisten, thus providing a transgenerative perspective.

#1 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY | CiM – dance Company

The first guest performance of the series DIVERSITY on Inclusion & Participation:

An inclusive dance piece for everyone ages 8 and up in cooperation with programme series QUERFELDEIN.

Human Geography investigates the relationship between people and their environment in different places. In the choreography HUMAN GEOGRAPHY by Ana Rita Barata, the performers enter a space together – their bodies become points of reference for each other as well as for the things and movements in this space. They create a living, constantly changing map of different surfaces, landscapes and territories. How do the bodies and things relate to each other in space? How do they change common territories? HUMAN GEOGRAPHY is the surveying of a space with different bodies that inscribe their traces in the memory of this place.

CiM – dance Company promotes a pioneering approach to artistic creation in the spirit of inclusion through dance and image. The company develops regular training and awareness that focuses on the movement specificities and unique expressiveness of each dancer/performer and promotes a vision of the idea of capacity and boundaries through choreography that reveals diversity as a driving force.

WITH US. Episode 1: Karel (65) meets David (25)
Silke Z. & die metabolisten

Before the performances, Silke Z. & die metabolisten develop an intergenerational dance perspective on the guest performance HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: In Episode 1, Karel (65) and David (25) meet.

Following the performances on June 9, 10 and 11, there will be a workshop with the artists of CiM – Companhia de Dança.

Workshop DANCE FOR ALL

9 & 10 June 2022: Workshop CiM “Dance for All”: for students after the performance
11 June 2022 | 12 am – 2 pm: free Workshop CiM “Dance for All” (all levels, mixed-abled)


Choreography Ana Rita Barata

Artistic advisor  Pedro Sena Nunes
Dancers Bruno Rodrigues, Joana Gomes, Nelson Moniz
Costumes Mafalda Estácio
Sound + light design Pedro Sena Nunes
Production Inês Baptista

The guest performance HUMAN GEOGRAPHY of the series DIVERSITY cooperates with the programme series QUERFELDEIN, which is financed, among others, by the funding for top-level productions (Spitzenförderung) of tanzfuchs PRODUKTION.

#2 SHAME MY NAME | Konnective

The second guest performance of the series DIVERSITY on Gender & Sexuality:

The intermedial performance SHAME MY NAME deals with the affair between Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton, the nipplegate around Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake and the rape allegations of GNTM contestant Gina-Lisa Lohfink.
Konnective examines the digital shaming of the three women and asks: How were their stories stored in the collective memory and what strategies did the women use to survive the shaming?

What continuities can be found with the history of female humiliation?

Performers:
Saliha Shagasi, Judith Niggehoff, Sophie Halcour

The guest performance SHAME MY NAME of the series DIVERSITY is supported by the Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media within the framework of NEUSTART KULTUR.

Please note !

The performance deals with the theme of sexualised violence.
At one point there are stroboscopic light effects.

WITH US. Episode 2: Karel (65) meets Annika (19)

Silke Z. & die metabolisten

Before the performances, Silke Z. & die metabolisten present an intergenerational dance perspective on the guest performance SHAME MY NAME: In episode 2, Karel (65) and Annika (19) meet.

#3 FÜHL DIE WELT DURCH MEINE HAUT | Khadidiatou Bangoura

The third guest performance of the series DIVERSITY on Racism & Privilege

The starting point of the piece is a thought experiment: Black people and PoCs, as the dominant social group, do not experience everyday racism, while white people, who do not belong to the dominant social group, experience everyday racism. Connections between everyday racism and structural racism are explored. Through dance & text, an emotional, complementary and low-threshold approach to the academic and theoretical discourse on racism is pursued in order to promote processes of sensibilisation, self-reflection and self-education to actively combat racism.

Khadidiatou Bangoura is a dancer & choreographer with West African roots. Her artistic works include “The heart is a muscle” (2016), “Adult-ish” (2017), “Moving Structures” (2020) and “FÜHL DIE WELT DURCH MEINE HAUT – Observations on everyday racism (2021)”. Through dance, she aims to enable the analysis of our relationships to each other, to ourselves and to our environment, creating new narratives that provoke reflection.

There will be an audience discussion after both performances.

Concept + Choreography: Khadidiatou Bangoura
Dance + Choreography: Khadidiatou Bangoura, Janaina Celina Domingos, Bawelima Dessa Ganda, Mareile Gnep, Joana Kern, Maria Eugenia Lapadula Plà, Emiko Tamura
Assistance: Waithera Schreyeck
Costume design: Douakro Kante
Photography + Stage design: Lorena Spülbeck
Music + Sound editing: Tatiana Heuman

Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the program NEUSTART KULTUR.

WITH US. Episode 3: Karel (65) meets Hanna (27)

Silke Z. & die metabolisten

Before the performances Silke Z. & die metabolisten present an intergenerational dance perspective on the guest performance FÜHL DIE WELT DURCH MEINE HAUT: In episode 3 Karel (65) and Hanna (27) meet.

#4 TRIPLE-BILL | Lisa Thomas, Angus Balbernie, Silke Z.

The fourth guest performance of the series DIVERSITY on the theme of Visibility & change of one’s own body

DIVERSITY focuses here on the aesthetic potential of the ageing female and male body, around the visibility and changing of one’s own body. The program includes three short pieces about men and women over 60:

ANGUS BALBERNIE – I LIKE CRIME SHOWS, MOUNTAINS AND MAYBE 3 PEOPLE

Angus Balbernie from the UK will improvise his show “I like crime shows, mountains and maybe 3 people” on both evenings.

Angus McLean Balbernie directs, choreographs, improvises, teaches and mentors. After around 85 performances, he says today:

“I don’t really enjoy the noise and hype of a lot of performances anymore. I enjoy smaller things in unusual spaces and studios, and work made by the unnoticed, the improvisers, the different and the broken. I enjoy people finding ways to move and compose and share themselves in space simply because they still have too…. That’s probably enough no?”  

When he’s not performing or teaching, he now lives on a hill in Haute Provence, hikes in the mountains and plays the banjo with his left hand – quite badly.

Improvisation + dance: Angus McLean Balbernie Lighting: Beppo Leichenich

More info at: www.angusbalbernie.weebly.com

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LISA THOMAS – DANCEYOURSKIN

Lisa Thomas from Stuttgart will also be showing excerpts from her performance “DanceYourSkin”:

Do women have to be young (and naked) to get a place on stage? In her dance performance, 63-year-old dancer and choreographer Lisa Thomas explores the very special artistic and dancing potential of her dancer’s body, which has changed with age. Using dance, photographs and live projections, she introduces us to the world and language of movement of the older body.

“The ageing human body has been at the centre of my work as a dancer, performer and choreographer for over 15 years. […] There are few old professional dancers present and as a consequence we have few collective images of older bodies dancing. I am interested in discovering the potential and beauty of my own 63 year old muscles and skin, e.g. their ability to vibrate, which a young hard body can never do.” (Lisa Thomas, 2023)

Concept/choreography/dance/performance: Lisa Thomas  Additional choreography: Smadar Goshen Photography: Simone Demandt Dramaturgy + video: Sabrina Schray  Text: Sabine Altenburger Stage: Justyna Koeke Costume: Justyna Koeke, Gesine Mahr Production and curation: Birgit Gebhard

More about the project: www.danceyourskin.de

Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in the NEUSTART KULTUR programme, [DIS-TANZEN/ tanz:digital/ DIS-TANZ-START support programme] of the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.

***

Silke Z. and the metabolisten will present the premiere of WITH US. EPISODE 4: KAREL (65) MEETS BETTINA (68) as a prelude to both solo works.

In WITH US. EPISODE 4 by choreographer Silke Z., dancers Karel Vaněk and Bettina Muckenhaupt meet. They embark on an impulsive process of rapprochement in which they explore different versions of themselves and make themselves available to each other with skin and hair. Sometimes explosive, sometimes pleasurable, they peel themselves from one skin into the next and play passionately with their relationship to independence.

Bettina Muckenhaupt and Karel Vaněk have been realising dance performances together with choreographer Silke Z. for many years and are both part of Silke Z.’s intergenerational ensemble “die metabolisten”.

Choreography: Silke Z. in collaboration with Dance: Karel Vaněk, Bettina Muckenhaupt Light: Beppo Leichenich Management: Hanna Held

Supported by the Diversity Fund of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

www.resistdance.de/en/with-us-episode-4

TEAM + FUNDING

Artistic direction: Silke Z.
Management: Caroline Simon, Hanna Held
Administration: Carina Graf
Organisation: Anna Boldt
Press work + public relations: Kerstin Roseman

Supported by the Diversity Fund of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

PERFORMANCE TRAILERS: