What happens when two performers rely solely on their own knowledge of the body? What levels of communication can be created between body and body on stage?
An experiment like this can only be ventured with dancers who, in their works, can accept this possibility of a radical physical confrontation - and for that reason, the idea behind this production unequivocally builds on two dancers who come from two very different yet highly developed dance traditions. More than any other performer, Susanne Linke personifies a knowledge of modern dance in Germany, from Mary Wigman to Folkwang and dance theatre. And Koffi Kôkô draws on the highly-developed centuries-old tradition of rites of passage in West African cultures. In both cases, with their bodies, they perform as a remarkable and unique library of knowledge. And both are exceptional dancers, whose choreographies have adressed and explored their own biographies as well as their socio-political, cultural and spiritual traditions.
TEATRIER, 13th September 2015
premiere: October 17th 2014, Academy of the Arts, Berlin
dance and choreography: Susanne Linke and Koffi Kôkô
conception: Johannes Odenthal
stage design: Marcel Kaskeline
lighting: Lutz Deppe
music/sound design: Wolfgang Bley-Borkowski
A production of the Academy of the Arts, Berlin and Susanne Linke
Founded by Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien und dem Hauptstadtkulturfonds