Dance Me!

Press

“’Can you even read?’ is met by ‘Does your pelvic floor still work?’ It hits where it hurts. And it gets intense when the young ones resist generational concepts and portray themselves as diversity personified. The old ones, meeting more and more at funerals, approach them and gently lean on them while also providing support for some of the young bodies. But before it all descends into intergenerational schmaltz the hard truth emerges: The old ones can never win this battle because they will die first. But the young ones’ victory is fleeting, too – they will be next.”

www.tanznetz.de, 3 September 2022

Preview text

The performance collective She She Pop, founded in the ‘90s in Gießen, Germany, gained instant notoriety for their provocative works, often drawing on personal experience. In “Dance Me!”, they present a clash of generations: Five members who have all reached the half-century throw themselves fearlessly into the ring against five young opponents. Here, their preconceptions and curiosity about each other, struggles with modern life as well as gratitude and appreciation are negotiated in a playful exchange of words and dance. Each team rehearses their moves separately and presents them with great verve in the on-stage arena while the other team gives the beat live at the mikes. This is a dance-theatrical experiment in confronting the generation gap, which is as good fun as it is serious and draws no easy conclusions about winners and losers.

(approx. 115 mins)

Watch a video on Vimeo: vimeo.com/662658791

cast & credits

Concept/ Idea: She She Pop

By and with (old): Sebastian Bark, Dan Belasco Rogers, Santiago Blaum, Johanna Freiburg, Sebastian Bark, Dan Belasco Rogers, Santiago Blaum, Johanna Freiburg, Fanni Halmburger, Lisa Lucassen, Mieke Matzke, Ilia Papatheodorou, Tatiana Saphir, Claudia Splitt, Berit Stumpf

By and with (young): Hiyam Biary, Eren M. Güvercin, Jan Nwattu, Şimal Nil Şahin, Nikolas Stäudte, Béla Arnaud WeimarDittmar, Zelal Yesilyurt, Sindi Zeneli

- Die Besetzung variiert, jeweils fünf Darsteller*innen pro Team und Abend -

Artistic Advice: Laia Ribera Cañénguez, Rodrigo Zorzanelli Cavalcanti

Set: Jan Brokof

Costumes: Lea Søvsø

Costumes Assistance: Marie Göhler, Gabi Bartels

Light Design: Andreas Harder

Light Design Assistance: Vito Walter

Choreographic Advice: Jill Emerson

Sound Design: Xavier Perrone

Technical Director: Sven Nichterlein

Production: Valeria Germain

Production Assistance Young: Sarah Mounia Kachiri

PR & Communication: ehrliche arbeit – freelance office for culture

Freelance Communication Support: Tina Ebert

Administration: Aminata Oelßner

Company Management: Elke Weber

Workshop Input: The Darvish, Jasmine Thomas, Bree Hauschild

Special Thanks to: Max Knoth, Stella Konstantinou and Peggy Mädler

Production: She She Pop

Co-Production: HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin/ Kampnagel, Hamburg/ Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt/ FFT Düsseldorf/ HELLERAU – Europäisches Zentrum der Künste, Dresden/ Residency Schauspiel Leipzig

Funded by: The German Federal Cultural Foundation and by the City of Berlin – Department for Culture and Europe