Just coming back from Warsaw. I was coaching Japanese rope bondage to actors from Nowy Teatr.
After a short introduction what traditional Shibari and my approach is, we got six actors into experimenting wildly with ropes and found funky ideas combining them with the text from ‘Ghost Sonata’.
Written by Swedish playwright August Strindberg’s in 1907. At that time he was inspired by Beethovens Piano Sonata ‘Ghost Trio’, and wrote this somewhat spooky chamber play, dealing with mummies and social eval, invented from some hidden place of his mind.. Perfect for Markus and perfect for ropes I think.
The group was awesome Normally I don’t suspend people who are totally new to ropes, but the energy was solid and there were two stuntmen in the room. One even a former Starwars stuntmen! :)
A special third advent. With Silke, our first show, in Markus Öhrns ‘Adventskalender – Wir sind die Guten‘ on the small stage of Volkbühne. Markus proposed to honour Saint Lucia with a Shibari ritual. Only than I learned about the female martyr of Syracuse, who was executed around 300 AD. She had denied to get maried, and there are many stories around her. The most known one is, that her eyes were gouged when she was tortured, so in one way or the other I thought it was perfect. She is also associated with light rituals and is the patrone of the the blind.
Already rehearsals were interesting. The third floor of Volkbüne is not easily accesible, but no problem for us!
The first time we took the front entrance, crossing the main stage, Pollesch was rehearsing, taking the goods lift with dance bikes and Jack. After we decided for the stairs and waited for the dramaturgic assistant to come by to give Silke a lift. She is so cool with these things! Thank you Tim :)
We quickly figured that a dress needs to be made. The costume stuff was super helpful. I got the white one from the rail and Silke had a couple fittings, so in the end we both got the same Lucia look, like the Swedish choral girls.
Another day of rehearsals in my space. Nothing worked, ropes were pinching and sliding all over the place, just not where they are supposed to sit. Padding didn’t work..a perfect sort of general.
On the Sunday Markus and the team were so there for us! Fixing suspension points in theatre becomes more easy, he took care of everything, especially since there was another Bondage performance in the calender, so hanging was bomb proof safe.
And like always, preparation takes more time than performing, Silke took care of my make up (I love how we can be girlish together :) and I check the hardware. Two sun salutes to tune into my body, sit ups, back warm up. Relevés and a little stretch so I don’t injure..(I did a light barre befor just to mentally complete my ritual). Two interns helped with last minute needs biscuits and tea, everything was sweetly wonderful.
But what was the performance about? I guess with the rope work it’s always about the process. Silke and I have been working together for one and a half years now. We met at Impulstanz Festival in Vienna in 2014, where she participated in our Yoga/Shibari workshop. It was mind blowing for us to have her doing the five day workshop. We were constantly looking for new solutions to alter the traditional technique and make it fit for her body. The same with Yoga. The first day she came in on her dance bike, with Jack, her assistant dog, and asked if she could take part. Of course! It was not just easy, since some of the dancers avoided partnering with Silke, so often Frances or Florian worked with her and they made beautifully odd couples.
On day three she found herself suspended in the air. And for ‘Impressions’, the public workshop try outs performances, we sort of performed together, even with Jack who got tied up ;).
Ismael Ivo commented, “I didn’t even know these things were happening in his festival..”.
Guido Reimitz introduced us again and suggested we should work together and he will support us whenever he can.
Dear Friends, Bondagisti, Theateristi and Dancers,
pssst.. on the third advent we open the 13th little door of Markus Öhrns advents calendar. Together with the great Silke Backofen-Schönfleisch we will honour Santa Lucia with a Shibari performance at Volksbühne Berlin…
Guest Performance @ Wir sind die Guten — Adventskalender von Markus Öhrn, Sonntag, 13. Dec
Performance: Uns wirst du nicht mehr los / You don’t get rid of us anymore, 8., 9., 10. Dec
Blog!
Warm wishes
Dasniya
Insel der Glückseligen
1. Guest Performance @ Wir sind die Guten — Adventskalender von Markus Öhrn, Sonntag, 13. Dec
Jeden Tag anders, jeden Tag eine neue Überraschung!
Frohe Botschaft: In der Adventszeit geht der schwedische Künstler Markus Öhrn gemeinsam mit der Musikerin und Schauspielerin Janet Rothe, dem Künstler und Musiker Makode Linde und den Schauspielern Jakob Öhrmann und Rasmus Slätis, sowie zahlreichen Überraschungsgästen den Pfad der Schmerzen und Erkenntnis und schöpft aus den Traditionen der christlichen Happeningkultur.
Silke Backofen-Schönfleisch und Dasniya Sommer
19h, Sonntag 13.12.2015
3rd floor Volksbühne
Tickets: 5 €
2. Performance: Uns wirst du nicht mehr los / You don’t get rid of us anymore, 8., 9., 10. Dec
A music theatre by Cornelia Heger
The piece starts with a Shibari Express video, using ropes in the context of more political theatre.
The documentary music theatre project Uns wirst du nicht mehr los examines the psychic emotional consequences of Stasi-degradation sanctions and Stasi-imprisonment and its lasting consequences for victims and their families.
Before yesterday we had a shoot for Cornelia Hegener’s new piece ‘Uns wirst Du nicht mehr los’. A documentary music theatre, opening in Berlin on December 8th. Her film team, 4 people, was super nice and Burkhard made beautiful light.
It was spooky, but still there were blissful moments, very concentrated, just some whispering and instructions once in a while.
Tying Florian made a leap. We both can read each other much better. Passing the rope around his body becomes super fluent and clear. I tied with gloves, which made things surprisingly easier and my fingers were protected. Though it needs more practice, cause the gloves get caught in the knots.
The video will be screened at the beginning of the piece, together with a reading of the Revelation of St. John. Creepy! But certainly intended and maybe just right, since the topic is rather heavy. Here is a short description in German and below some stills:
Das dokumentarische Musiktheaterprojekt „Uns wirst du nicht mehr los“ möchte den anhaltenden seelischen Folgen von „operativer Psychologie“ und „Zersetzungsmaßnahmen“ („weiße“ Folter) durch die DDR/Stasi Ausdruck verleihen und die Auswirkungen von Trauma sowie dessen transgenerationale Weitergabe an die Zweite Generation untersuchen. Ziel ist einerseits, mit Mitteln des dokumentarischen Theaters den theoretischen und staatsrechtlichen Überbau des paranoiden DDR-Überwachungssystems aufzuzeigen und den Aussagen von Zeitzeugen gegenüberzustellen. Andererseits soll unter Anwendung aktueller Erkenntnisse aus Traumaforschung die logische wie brisante Schlussfolgerung nahegelegt werden, dass psychische Folter seine Wirkung über Generationen behält, auch wenn das politische System, das sie erzeugte, längst nicht mehr existiert.
Premier: 8.12.2015 at 7 pm, additional performance 9. + 10.12. Heinrich Böll Stiftung Berlin
Schumannstraße 8
10117 Berlin
…at old ballet studio of Volksbühne. There a German christmas saying..”Advent Advent ein Lichtlein brennt. Erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei dann vier,…,” we are rehearsing for Markus Öhrns ‘Adventskalender’ showing in December.
Dancing, reading, tying, reading..not paradies, but a play reading at Roter Salon a couple weeks ago. With Ludmila, Jekaterina and the two musicians Susanne and Chatschatur we threw this together.. In three days, mixing text and tying which was new for my brain, so it got confused happily ;)
