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| The theme is initial touch. In Gehmacher's "mountains are mountains", the self-contained individualities of his earlier work turn into bodies beginning to open up, communicate, and form a group. Each pause, each step, no matter how small, has an effect on the others. Philipp Gehmacher, who also contributed to last year's KÖRPERSTIMMEN, was voted "outstanding newcomer" in a survey of dance critics in the magazine "ballettanz," yearbook 2002. "It is a challenge and a great desire of mine to create new forms of expression that, instead of using a monologue to convey meaning, do so in a dialogue and through metalogue. Content is narrated not only through the performer's interpretation, space, time, lighting, and sound, but rather by actions and deeds that are performed together, with and against one another. It is a totally different kind of work, work in which the performers interact with each other. What do I become through the other? How do I deal with the fact that I am not independent, that I am influenced by others' actions? Ultimately, they not only influence me, they co-create my existence, or rather, other people's perception of my existence. Thus I am forced to pay attention to the others, to learn to see them and deal with them. The question arises: Maybe I'm not so free after all? Maybe I'm dependent. These issues - individual and environment, dependence and freedom - are the starting point for this new production. The theme is not a sad one, it is a positive one: a dependency that can help us in our lives and helps us connect with others." (Philipp Gehmacher) |
German premiere Admission: 13/10 euros Concept, choreography: Philipp Gehmacher Choreography, dance: Brynjar Bandlien, Philipp Gehmacher, Helga Guszner, Sioned Huws, and Michikazu Matsune Composition: Pedro Gomez-Egana Lighting: Jonathan Clark and Philipp Gehmacher A production by Philipp Gehmacher/Mumbling Fish. Co-produced by Tanzquartier Wien and Podewil/ TanzWerkstatt Berlin. With support from Springdance/ works, Kunstencentrum Vooruit, Dans in Kortrijk, London Arts, Erste Bank, The British Council Berlin, and Laban Centre London. |
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| Philipp Gehmacher lives and works in Vienna and London. He trained at the London Contemporary Dance School and then studied choreography, aesthetics and the sociology of dance at the Laban Centre London. He was awarded the New Choreographers Award by London Arts for his very first solo piece in 1997. Since then he has gained international recognition and won numerous prizes—including the renowned Jerwood Choreography Award—for his solo and group pieces. In addition to many guest performances and tours, Gehmacher has benefited from various residencies for his choreographic and conceptional work. "Philipp Gehmacher's [works] possess great formal power and conceptual urgency. They have the dynamic conciseness and boldness of early expressive dance without a trace of the anecdotal. The work alternates between shock and hysteria, frenetic activity and rigidity. In this way, Gehmacher paints a more convincing portrait of our society than do many strained attempts at facile entertainment. In doing so, Gehmacher champions dance." (FAZ, April 30, 2002) |
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Photos: Chris Van der Burght |
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