DARK RED – ACKER STADT PALAST BERLIN (2022)

DARK RED


Dance Performance by Clébio Oliveira

with Zula Lemes

Mourning, as a vehicle for reflection, assumes a fundamental role for those interested in the psyche and the mysteries surrounding the human mind. It is a recurring theme in literature, poetry, and cinema, providing individuals with an opportunity to contemplate existential questions and establish connections with their own experiences in this domain. Unfortunately, such themes are often disregarded by society at large and frequently considered taboos, particularly in regions like Latin America. Nevertheless, farewell rituals play a crucial function in emotional regulation and the strengthening of social bonds. Deprivation of these rituals can lead to feelings of isolation and helplessness, intensifying the anguish and sadness that accompany loss. How does our psyche react when we confront the finitude of death and mourning while being deprived of the farewell ritual?

Through the dance performance entitled “DARK RED,” choreographer Clébio Oliveira and his team invite the audience to embark on a collective journey composed of individual experiences, with mourning as the central focus of reflection. This collaborative investigation has transformed into a quest for connection with one’s own body and with other bodies that have found solace amidst apocalyptic landscapes of the soul, confronting the daily nightmare: the confrontation with transience. “DARK RED” is a solo dance performance that seeks to establish a dialogue with the vulnerable and fragile body, exploring the psychic anatomy of loss. This powerful and minimalist dance piece reveals itself as a post-apocalyptic scenario, where light and darkness, sound and shadow come into play.

In collaboration with dancer Zula Lemes (70), Clébio Oliveira has developed a powerful, unsettling, intimate, and expressive visual language. The performance reaches its pinnacle, constituting an aesthetic translation of the psychic states confronted when grappling with the pain of mourning: how does our psyche react when we encounter finitude, death, while being deprived of the farewell ritual?

The innovative lighting concept conceived by renowned Brazilian designer Mirella Brandi brings the space and atmosphere of the performance to life, imbuing it with an impressive tonality through the original compositions of Matresanch.

Concept & Choreography: Clébio Oliveira

Dance & Creation: Zula Lemes

Dramaturgy: Hannes Raphael

Composition & Music: Matresanch

Lighting Design: Mirella Brandi

Light Assistance: Marcelo Schmittner Daza

Costumes: Atelier Liyanova Migliorati

Design: Markus Wagner

Photos: Tuca Paoli

Production: Elisa Calosi

PR: Yven Augustin

Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the program NEUSTART KULTUR.
With the kind support of Bezirksamt Mitte von Berlin, Fachbereich Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte.