KOERPER.WELLE – UFERSTUDIOS BERLIN (2021)

The dance performance koerper.welle is a multimedia research that turns the body into a medium. In a technologically advanced present, where communication transcends borders and we explore the reaches of space, a small virus, in early 2020, brought us to our knees for being new and initially uncontrollable. Through catastrophes like this, the external world invades our inner realms, manifesting as a short-circuit in the psyche or as a chemical reaction that transforms the outer reality. These events confront us with the reality of impermanence and uncertainty, reminding us of our lack of absolute control over the course of events. This lack of control can generate a sense of powerlessness and helplessness, deeply affecting our psychological balance. Physical and psychic states undergo metamorphosis, just as alchemy transforms one element into another. The psychic landscapes explored by koerper.welle evoke the surreal juxtaposition of sinister figures found in the apocalyptic paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. The indeterminacy of artistic forms and notions of time creates a futuristic atmosphere, a surreal aesthetic that transcends the limits of conventional understanding. The entire performance becomes an alienated ritual, a search for catharsis, a purification of destructive affects that results in a healing contagion.

The performance becomes a journey in search of connection with the body itself, with other bodies yearning for support in the apocalyptic landscapes of the soul – a confrontation with the daily nightmare that haunts us. How does the body behave in the face of extreme existential situations?

Performers

Concept/Choreography: Clébio Oliveira

Dance/creation: Zula Lemos, Christine Ceconello

Dramaturgy: Yasmine Salimi

Composition Music: Matresanch

Lighting design: Mirella Brandi

Lighting assistance: Marcelo Schmittner Dazá

Costumes: Atelier Liyanova Migliorati

Grafic design: Markus Wagner

Photos: Tuca Paoli

Production: Elisa Calosi

P.R.: Yven Augustin

With the kind support of the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Senate Department for Cultural Affairs. Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the program NEUSTART KULTUR.