For the closing event of Tanznacht Berlin 2020, two very different female artists have been invited to combine their practices: Mmakgosi Kgabi is a voice-over artist who finds ways of embodying language and speech with her own «(Dance) Encyclopedia of the Mouth». Dasniya Baddhanasiri is a ballet dancer and choreographer who runs a dojo in Wedding in the Japanese art of Tight Bondage.
In «An Unboxing Ballet Beat», Mmakgosi Kgabi and Dasniya Baddhanasiri conduct an open, body-voice dialogue, simultaneously breaking down sentences and ballet vocabulary to create a rough working environment. By their reciprocal approach of bodily listening, they open spaces in which processes of connecting and dividing occur equally, in parallel. The audience is cordially invited to engage with this exchange and to join the artists on their journey through a space-time continuum full of surprises.
Mmakgosi Kgabi is a trained physical theatre and improvisation performer and also a performance facilitator. Her work often interrogates the premise of identity and nationalism, revisiting themes on the Black Female Body Politics and Migration.
The choreographer Dasniya Baddhanasiri researches movement from the perspective of the dancer. Her primary interest is the redefinition of body images, which she seeks within a physical and cultural spectrum ranging from Japanese bondage art to deconstructed ballet practice.
In June we were invited to show The Männy at Autoren(theater)tage. Because of the situation it’s now postponed to autumn. Fingers crossed that it can come to Berlin! It will be a crazy job to set up the installtion in a new space, despite our meticulous documentation of every single rope critter.
New years vacation, knitting and knotting this and them, developing part of the stage design for ‘The Männy’. On the left suspended a cocoon which gives birth to an adorable rope creature in the piece. The happy side of the cocoon is made of more organic material, flowers, willow cotton, beeswax and compostable left overs. The back is covered in bitumen, an oily and somewhat burned, demolished landscape. ➿
This summer during Norio Sugiura’s workshop in Copenagen, a photographer asked me to tie her. For a long time she had a deep scar in her lower back. And anew she wanted to make friends with it. It was her birthday. We sneaked to the first floor factory hall and had a fun midnight session.
is working with foam puppets and dance , theatre and signs
with animals and objects. Worked a lot with other-abled people.
Also Puppetmaker theatres and sometimes film.
25. October tying with Fel
Since about one year Fel attends the Shibari classes in Haus Sommer.
And inspite of his bodysize of 1. 95 meter hight ( and 85 kg weight) the sunnyboy prooved to be surprisingly talented for suspension as a model.
The reason may be in his yoga or surf background or in his other activities which compose his phisicality or in his positiv spirit.
So he made the step from the classes within a single year to the stage and he was nominated from Haus Sommer for this performance.
September: 3 +10 + 24 (not on the 17th!)
October: 1 + 8 + 15 + 29 (not on the 22nd!)
November: 5 + 19 (not on the 12th + 26th! )
December 3 (thats the only class in Dec!)
Fond memories of Dennis Seidel’s western drama 10 Meter in den Wilden Westen early this year. A bunch of cowgirls, chochi and a mare living in Dawsons Creek. Revenching my dead fam, and helping me hunt down this sneaky bitch Tatjana Thorns! 🤠
The rope scene didn’t make it to the final, but it was much fun to work it with Solène.
We remount the show in Mainz and Berlin this autumn.
Photos: Simone Scardovelli